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Antiguan Prime Minister
Gaston Browne has con-
firmed that India has sent a pri-
vate jet to Dominica carrying
documents related to the
deportation of fugitive dia-
mantaire Mehul Choksi who is
wanted here in a money laun-
dering case linked to the Rs
13,500 crore Punjab National
Bank (PNB) credit fraud scam.
Meanwhile, the Antiguan
media released Choksi's photos
with swollen eyes and bruises
on his arms.
Antigua News Room, an
Antiguan media outlet, report-
ed that a Qatar Airways private
jet landed at the Douglas-
Charles airport in Dominica,
fuelling speculation about
Choksi's deportation.
Choksi went missing from
Antigua on May 23 and was
subsequently detained in neigh-
bouring Dominica.
Browne said on a radio
show that the jet came from
India carrying the necessary
documentation needed for
deportation of Choksi, the
Antiguan media report said.
Yes I can confirm that a jet
is there. My understanding is
that the Indian Government has
sent some documentation from
the courts to confirm that
Choksi is a fugitive. My under-
standing is that it is for the court
hearing scheduled on
Wednesday (June 2) as the
Dominica court has put a stay
on his deportation. So the
Indian Government seems to
be going all out to ensure that
he is repatriated to India and
faces charges there, Browne
reportedly told the radio show
in his country.
The Qatar Executive flight
A7CEE reportedly left the Delhi
airport at 3.44 PM on May 28
and reached Dominica at 13.16
local time on the same day, via
Madrid.
A top Dominican court
has restrained Choksi's repa-
triation till June 2 when it will
take up the hearing of a habeas
corpus petition filed by the
businessman's attorneys there.
Choksi's lawyer in Mumbai
Vijay Agarwal has alleged that
the businessman was abducted
from the Jolly Harbour in
Antigua and Barbuda by police-
men looking like Antiguans and
Indians and taken to Dominica.
Antiguan Police
Commissioner Atlee Rodney,
however, debunked the claims
of Choksi's counsel saying he
had no information on him
being forcefully removed.
The Antiguan news outlet
also released purported pictures
of 62-year-old Choksi with red,
swollen eyes and bruises on his
arms.
?=BQ =4F34;78
Giving a ray of hope to peo-
ple waiting for inoculation
against Covid-19, the
Government on Sunday said
that nearly 12 crore doses of the
vaccine would be available in
June, up from the 7.94 crore
doses that were available for
vaccination in May.
The Government's assur-
ance came close on the heels of
an announcement by the
Serum Institute of India (SII)
that it would be able to manu-
facture and supply nine to 10
crore doses of Covishield in
June, which is way up from its
production capacity of 6.5 crore
doses in May.
The availability of more
doses is likely to give a fillip to
the Government's nationwide
vaccination drive which had
slowed down owing to the
shortage of the jabs, resulting
in the Government drawing
flak from States as well as
potential vaccine beneficiaries.
The allocation of supplies
to States and Union Territories
is decided on the consumption
pattern, population density
and vaccine wastage, the
Union Health Ministry said.
Visibility for availability of
vaccines for the entire month
of June has been provided well
in advance to States/UTs...., it
added.
For the month of June,
6.09 crore doses of Covid vac-
cines will be supplied to the
States and UTs for the vacci-
nation of the priority group of
healthcare workers, front-line
workers and people in the 45+
category as free supply from the
Government.
In addition, more than
5.86 crore doses will be avail-
able for direct procurement by
the States/UTs and private hos-
pitals. Therefore, in June, close
to 12 crore doses will be avail-
able for the national Covid
vaccination programme, it
said.
The Ministry said the
delivery schedule for this allo-
cation would be shared with
the States in advance.
B0D60AB4=6D?C0Q :;:0C0
Bengal Chief Secretary (CS)
Alapan Bandopadhyay may
not report at North Block on
Monday as directed by the
Union Home Ministry, sources
in the Mamata Banerjee
Government said. The State
Government has vehemently
opposed the Centre's unilater-
al order transferring an IAS offi-
cer without consulting the
State, sources said. Though
there was no official word
regarding this, sources said the
CSwhohadbeendirectedbythe
Centre to report on Monday
would be attending pre-sched-
uled meetings on the post-
cyclone scenario in Kolkata.
Sources said the State was
preparing to meet the Centre in
courtshouldasituationariseout
of the CS’s non-appearance in
Delhi. The Centre may either
withdraw its letter or it may
move court … in that case we
are prepared too, a Trinamool
Congress MP said adding at
present it is upon our Chief
Ministertohandlethesituation.
The CS, who was scheduled
to retire on May 31 and was
grantedathree-monthextension
with New Delhi’s nod, is cur-
rently heading taskforces to
supervise and streamline the
post-cyclone relief mechanism.
Mamataearlieropposedthe
Centre's move to recall
Bandopadhyay, as the BJP's
way to bulldoze the federal sys-
tem of the country just because
they cannot digest the defeat in
the Assembly elections.
AsectionofretiredIASoffi-
cers like Jawahar Sarkar said:
The Centre can do nothing
about it if the State sends them
a polite letter pointing out the
All-India Service Rules govern-
ing such transfers. This officer
may relax and be where he is as
nothing will happen if he does
not go to Delhi.
Another retired officer said:
Though the rule is loaded in
favour of the Centre in such
cases … it also stipulates that
they will first have to approach
the State Government seeking
a central deputation and his
release which they have not …
in that case even if the Chief
Secretary reports at North
Block where is the release let-
ter from the State.
?=BQ 274==08
The uncertainty about the
progress of the Covid-19
curve forced the State admin-
istration to extend the total
lockdown till June 7. Muthuvel
Karunanidhi Stalin, who had
declared his opposition to any
kind of lockdown during his
days as the Leader of the
Opposition has conceded to the
request of the high power com-
mittee for the continuation of
lockdown only because of the
unpredictable nature of the
virus causing the pandemic.
While Chief Minister
Stalin's opposition to the lock-
down is attributed to his appre-
hension about the poorer sec-
tions of society, many persons
and institutions in the State are
on a mission to feed the less
privileged affected by the pan-
demic.
Every morning, heavy
trucks belonging to Madras
Regimental Centre, Wellington,
set on their trip to the hither-
to unexplored regions in the
High Ranges in search of poor
people to provide them two
square meals of food.
The soldiers, popularly
known as Thambis (Tamil for
brothers) carry food packets
with steaming idli, vada, sam-
bar, chutney and lunch that
consists of rice and half a
dozen vegetable curries.
This is in sync with our
motto ‘Har Kaam Desh Ke
Naam’. We provide assistance in
the form of cooked food pack-
ets to the poor daily wage
earners, labourers and to the
needy in the far flung areas of
the Nilgiris district, said a
MRC Wellington spokesper-
son.
These villagers are the ones
who are deprived of their liveli-
hood and daily income because
of Covid-19 and the lockdown.
The Thambis get the satisfac-
tion of their life when they see
the smiling faces of these poor
village folk, said the
spokesman.
In the adjoining district of
Tirupur, it is a homemaker
Indira Sundaram who has
earned the goodwill of the
people by her selfless services.
Everyday she sets on her own
with packed food packets in
search of the poor and needy
and feeds more than 500
households in the city.
This is all I could do. I get
the food cooked in my house
itself with the help of a cater-
er. Of late many citizens gave
come forward offering financial
assistance in this mission to
provide food to the people,
said Sundaram.
Tirupur an industrial hub
and also the knitwear capital of
India has many migrant
labourers from far away States
who have been affected by the
lockdown. In Erode district, a
school principal by name
Clement Premkumar moves
around in a cart with food
packets. When he launched the
free meals for the poor people,
he was alone in the venture.
Seeing this 44-year-old man's
initiative, others too joined his
bandwagon.
Pandemic may take time to
subside. But the Thambis of
MRC, Indira Sundaram,
Clement Premkumar and hun-
dreds like them would ensure
that no starvation deaths take
place in Tamil Nadu.
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Asserting that all hands were
on deck in the ongoing
pandemic that was the kind of
health emergency that
occurred once in 100 years,
Prime Minister Narendra Modi
on Sunday said that the pro-
duction of oxygen in the coun-
try had increased ten times
and people were working with
a team spirit to defeat the
Coronavirus outbreak.
During his monthly radio
programme 'Mann Ki Baat', the
Prime Minister said the coun-
try's courage and determina-
tion had increased manifold as
Covid-19 posed a big chal-
lenge before it.
In the normal course, we
were producing 900 metric
tonnes of liquid medical oxy-
gen in a day. Today, the pro-
duction has gone up to 9,500
metric tonnes a day — an
increase of almost 10 per cent,
said Modi while underlining
his Government's efforts in
fighting coronavirus.
He said oxygen trans-
portation to hospitals was tak-
ing place with speed, dedica-
tion and with the cooperation
of all, including truck drivers,
the Railways, the Indian Air
Force (IAF) pilots, Army per-
sonnel and Navy ship Captains.
During the second wave of
Covid-19, a major challenge
was to supply medical oxygen
to remote areas. To counter
challenges that the country
faced, drivers of cryogenic oxy-
gen tankers helped by working
on a war footing and saved lives
of lakhs of people, said Modi.
?=BQ =4F34;78
The Ministry of Labour and
Employment on Sunday
announced additional bene-
fits for workers through the
ESIC and EPFO schemes to
address their fear and anxiety
about the well-being of their
family members due to Covid-
19-related deaths.
The Government has
planned to provide enhanced
social security to workers with-
out any additional cost to the
employers.
Currently for the Insured
Persons (IPs) under ESIC, after
death or disablement of the IP
due to employment injury a
pension equivalent to 90 per
cent of average daily wage
drawn by the worker is avail-
able to the spouse and widowed
mother for life long and for
children till they attain the age
of 25 years. For the female
child, the benefit is available till
her marriage.
To support the families of
Insured Persons (IP) under
the ESIC scheme, it has been
decided that, all dependent
family members of IPs who
have been registered in the
online portal of the ESIC prior
to their diagnosis of Covid dis-
ease and subsequent death due
to the disease, will be entitled
to receive the same benefits and
in the same scale as received by
the dependents of insured per-
sons who die as a result of
employment injury, said
Ministry in a statement.
As per the new order, the
amount of maximum benefit
has been increased from 6
lakhs to 7 lakhs to the family
members of deceased employ-
ees. Restoration of provision of
minimum 2.5 lakh compensa-
tion retrospectively from
February 15, 2020, said the cir-
cular issued by the Labour
Ministry.
0=8Q ;=3=
Amid calls for a fresh probe
into the origins of Covid-
19, an explosive new study
has found that Chinese scien-
tists created the virus in a lab
in Wuhan, then tried to cover
their tracks by reverse-engi-
neering versions of the virus to
make it look like it evolved nat-
urally from bats.
The novel coronavirus
SARS-CoV-2virushasnocred-
ible natural ancestor and was
created by Chinese scientists
who were working on a 'Gain of
Function' project in a Wuhan
lab, the Daily Mail reported on
Sunday, citing a new research
paper by British professor
Angus Dalgleish and
Norwegian scientist Dr Birger
Sorensen.
The new research claims
that scientists took a natural
coronavirus backbone found
in Chinese cave bats and
spliced onto it a new spike,
turning it into the deadly and
highly transmissible Covid-
19.
The paper also quotes that
researchers found unique fin-
gerprints in Covid-19 samples
that they say could only have
arisen from manipulation in a
laboratory. Authors Dalgleish
and Sorensen wrote in their
paper that they had prima facie
evidence of retro-engineering in
China' for a year, but were
ignored by academics and
major journals, reported
DailyMail.com.
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The Government has warned
hotels against offering stay
vaccination packages after
reports that some hospitality
sector players had started com-
ing up with these schemes.
Union Health Minister Dr
Harsh Vardhan tweeted,
Hotels offering Covid-19 vac-
cination packages shall face
strict legal action! Such activ-
ities are in contravention of
rules under the national Covid
vaccination programme and
must cease immediately.
The Ministry wrote to all
States on Saturday, saying it had
come to its notice that some
private hospitals are giving
packages for Covid vaccination
in collaboration with some
hotels, which is against (rules).
The Centre has pointed out
in the letter there are four
available options for vaccina-
tion — Government centres;
private hospitals; at
Government and private offices
and near to home centres for
the elderly and differently-
abled.
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?=BQ 347A03D=
Bharatiya Janata Party
MPs,MLAs and workers
participated in various service
works in urban and rural areas
as part of the Seva Hi
Sangathan programme to mark
seven years of the central gov-
ernment under Prime Minister
Narendra Modi on Sunday.
Ration kits, masks, sanitisers
and other items were distrib-
uted among citizens on the
occasion.
At a programme held in
Pratitnagar Valmiki Basti in
Rishikesh Assembly con-
stituency, BJP national gener-
al secretary and State in-charge
Dushyant Kumar Gautam and
the local MLA and Assembly
speaker Prem Chand Agrawal
while in Haridwar Gautam
along with BJP state president
and Haridwar MLA Madan
Kaushik distributed relief mate-
rials at various places. Speaking
at the event in Rishikesh,
Gautam said that the BJP is
organising various pro-
grammes for protection from
Covid while also raising pub-
lic awareness.
He said that some confu-
sion is being spread but people
should wear masks, observe
social distancing and frequently
wash hands for protection from
Covid-19.
He averred that the BJP
government at the centre had
served the public with dedica-
tion across the nation during
the pandemic.
He also spoke in detail
about the various works of the
party.
Kaushik said that BJP
workers had conducted service
works in villages across
Uttarakhand. The party work-
ers had distributed masks, hand
sanitisers, ration kits and other
important items to those
requiring these. Former chief
minister and Doiwala MLA,
Trivendra Singh Rawat attend-
ed a blood donation camp
held in the Nawada area of his
constituency.
Similarly, the party’s state
general secretary (organisa-
tion) Ajey participated in a
blood donation camp in
Dharmpur Assembly con-
stituency, MP Ajay Bhatt par-
ticipated in events at Haldwani,
Ramnagar and Kotabagh, MP
Ajay Tamta attended events in
Bajeti village in his con-
stituency and state general sec-
retary Rajendra Bhandari
attended an event in Thano vil-
lage. Other MLAs and office
bearers of the party also attend-
ed programmes for distribution
of relief material and similar
events in various parts of the
state to mark the occasion.
?=BQ 347A03D=
Taking a dig at the Seva
Diwas programme organ-
ised by the BJP on Sunday, the
Pradesh Congress Committee
(PCC) president Pritam Singh
said that perturbed by its slid-
ing graph the BJP had entered
a damage control mode. He
said that when the pandemic
was at its peak and the destruc-
tion prevailed everywhere the
BJP and its leaders had isolat-
ed themselves.
Singh was speaking after
sitting on a fast at the state
headquarters of the party here
on Sunday.
The protest was organised
against poor health services
and spiralling prices. He said
that the general public is reel-
ing under corruption, price
rise and unemployment and
BJP by changing the CM has
proved that its government
has done nothing in the last
four and half years in
Uttarakhand. Singh said that
the state government has failed
in tackling the pandemic of
Covid- 19 and Black fungus
disease. He said that instead of
discussing assembly elections
slated next year in Uttar
Pradesh and Uttarakhand the
BJP had discussed ways of
controlling the pandemic in its
core group. He said that instead
of providing relief the state gov-
ernment has hiked the tariff of
electricity.
The cooking gas cylinder is
costing more than Rs 900, the
petrol Rs 95 and diesel Rs 90.
Singh said that the ‘Sewa
Diwas’ is a mere political stunt
and exposes the slander politics
of BJP.
Launching into an attack
on the Narendra Modi gov-
ernment for playing vaccine
diplomacy, the PCC presidents
said that the government
exported 6.08 Crore vaccines to
other countries and now when
vaccine shortage has hit the
country it is now importing the
vaccine. He said that the gov-
ernment should have made
adequate arrangements for vac-
cines before starting the vac-
cine campaign ( Tika Utsav).
He said that the Union gov-
ernment should have provided
the vaccines to the states but it
has abdicated this responsibil-
ity and has put the onus of get-
ting vaccines on the states.
The PCC president said that
while 50 percent of the popu-
lation of many countries has
been vaccinated, only 3 percent
of the population is vaccinated
in India.
Former MLA Rajkumar,
general secretary (organisa-
tion) Vijay Saraswat, vice pres-
idents Surya Kant Dhasmana,
Aryendra Sharma, Lal Chand
Sharma, Navin Payal, Pratima
Singh and other Congress lead-
ers attended the protest.
?=BQ 347A03D=
The claim of the Chief
MinisterTirathSinghRawat
that the sugar is being provided
for the first time in Public
Distribution System (PDS)
shops after independence in
the state by his government has
elicitedasharpreactionfromthe
Uttarakhand Congress.
Terming the statement of
CM as proof of his lack of
knowledge, the Pradesh
Congress Committee (PCC)
president Pritam Singh said, “I
want to remind him that sugar
was available at Rs 13.65 per kg
in ration shops during the
Congress regime. The CM
should have consulted his offi-
cers before making such an
ignorant statement,’’ he said.
Known for giving state-
ments which draw attention
and attract controversy, CM
Rawat said in a programme in
Uttarkashi on Saturday, “Sugar
was never given since indepen-
dence, not even during disasters
and bad times. We are giving
sugar for three months along
with grain.’’
However, later CM clarified
that sugar is being given for the
first time in a disaster.
It is pertinent to mention
herethattheRawatcabinetinits
meeting on Friday had decided
to provide two kg of sugar at Rs
25perkgtoallration card hold-
ers.
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Reduced to just about six leg-
islative assemblies across
India, the Congress party is vir-
tually leaving no stone
unturned to retain power in
Punjab. Just about eight
months to go before the crucial
2022 Punjab assembly elec-
tions, the Congress national
vice-president Rahul Gandhi
and the party high command
constituted a three-member
panel are simultaneously
engaged in talks with the state
party leaders to resolve the
ongoing crisis.
On one hand, the high
command-constituted three-
member panel is set to start a
series of meetings for the next
three days in the national cap-
ital to resolve the growing
resentment within the Punjab
party unit by holding one-to-
one meetings with the party
leaders; on the other hand,
Rahul Gandhi on Sunday per-
sonally called up state leaders,
including three Ministers and
some MLAs, to take direct
feedback.
To start with, the panel —
comprising the Leader of
Opposition in the Rajya Sabha
Mallikarjun Kharge, state party
affairs in-charge Harish Rawat,
and former MP JP Agarwal —
will kickstart the round of
meetings with the Punjab
Congress president Sunil
Jakhar, followed by party
MLAs, MPs, former presi-
dents, among others, over the
next three days.
The murmurs of dissent
within the state party unit
over the State Government’s
performance in Punjab, led by
several senior leaders includ-
ing the Ministers, has now
turned into boisterous voices of
rebellion affecting the party’s
image in a run up to the state
assembly polls, which are slat-
ed to be held early next year.
Returning from over a
year-long political hiberna-
tion, former Minister Navjot
Singh Sidhu opened a front
against his own party’s gov-
ernment, especially the Chief
Minister Capt Amarinder
Singh, over the unfulfilled pre-
poll promises of punishing
the guilty of sacrilege and
related firing cases besides the
drugs trade.
Also, the Punjab and
Haryana High Court’s adverse
order in Kotkapura firing inci-
dent came as a vindication of
Sidhu’s criticism of the
Government, and many more
party leaders, including
Ministers, upped the ante
against the Chief Minister.
The situation turned so
bad that senior party leaders,
including Cabinet Ministers
Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa
and Charanjit Singh Channi,
Rajya Sabha MPs Partap Singh
Bajwa and Shamsher Singh
Dullo, MLAs Pargat Singh,
Surjit Singh Dhiman, and
many others, held a series of
closed-door meetings to press
upon the Government to
ensure punishment to the
guilty, the Badals, in the sacri-
lege cases, before the ensuing
elections.
If that was not enough, the
reports of Vigilance action
against Sidhu, a case against
Randhawa’s personal assistant,
an old ‘Me Too’ case against
Channi, and “threats” of
“action” against Pargat Singh
came to fore, with the anti-
Capt Amarinder camp decry-
ing “vendetta” for raising their
voices. Virtually, the state party
unit was divided into two
power centres.
Seeing things getting out
of hand, the party high com-
mand set up a three-member
panel to resolve the internal
issues in the state party unit,
especially between the Chief
Minister Capt Amarinder
Singh and Navjot Singh Sidhu.
Besides Jakhar, the panel
has also invited 25 legislators
for the meeting, scheduled to
be held in New Delhi on
Monday, to take their feedback
on the ongoing tussle in the
party.
“We will talk to the grass-
root leaders, the responsible
leaders…We will meet the
Chief Minister, party presi-
dent, Bajwa, Sidhu, Dullo,
Ministers like Channi…We
will talk to everyone…First,
we will talk to the MLAs,
then MPs, and then former
presidents, and if possible, we
will also go Chandigarh and
see if some other leaders also
wanted to meet us,” Rawat told
The Pioneer.
Rawat said, “We will hold
a one to one meeting with
everyone so that all leaders can
talk to us freely and without
any pressure. Our effort would
be to understand things and
find out ways to put up a unit-
ed fight in the next elections
by resolving all differences.”
He said that senior leaders,
including Ambika Soni,
Ashwani Kumar, among oth-
ers, would also be invited for
the meeting. “We have no
preconceived notions about
anything…the meetings will
be held in a comfortable envi-
ronment and with open mind,
and we are hopeful to bring all
leaders together to put up a
united face,” he added.
It has been learnt that the
panel would wrap up its meet-
ings with the leaders by the
first week of June, reportedly
by June 2-3, and subsequent-
ly submit its report to the
Congress interim president
Sonia Gandhi for a final deci-
sion.
The main challenge ahead
the panel is to look for the
ways how senior leaders, espe-
cially Sidhu, could be accom-
modated, as all previous efforts
to bridge the gap between
him and the Chief Minister
proved futile.
“As I have already said
many times earlier also, Sidhu
is a strong leader…he is the
party’s future. What role he
will get is on the party to
decide…My previous efforts
could not provide result, but
once again, we, as a panel,
would make efforts and let’s
see how Sidhu and Capt saab
would respond…We will find
a way through this panel,”
said Rawat adding that both
Capt Amarinder and Sidhu are
senior leaders and we have to
find the way out between the
two.
As of now, Sidhu is insist-
ing that he should be appoint-
ed the state unit president or
Deputy Chief Minister —
demands categorically denied
by the Chief Minister.
Accommodating Sidhu on any
of the positions would provide
him with an opportunity to
checkmate Capt Amarinder in
the distribution of tickets in
the coming Assembly polls.
However, Capt Amarinder had
offered to make Sidhu a part
of his Council of Ministers.
Jakhar, who has already
reached the national capital to
meet the three-member panel,
said that he was yet to know
the exact agenda for the meet-
ing and would see how the
talks move forward.
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c^SPh*AP6Pc^^_Tab^]P[[hRP[[bd_[TPSTab
2aXbXbX]2^]VaTbb
?=BQ 270=3860A7
Haryana Chief Minister
Manohar Lal Khattar on
Sunday said that 50 people have
died due to black fungus or
mucormycosis in the state so
far, while 650 more are under-
going treatment for the infec-
tion in various hospitals.
“There have been over 750
cases of black fungus in
Haryana so far. Fifty-eight have
been cured while 50 people
have lost their lives and 650
patients are undergoing treat-
ment, the Chief Minister said
while addressing a digital press
conference here. He said that
the government is procuring
the Amphotericin B injection
used in treatment of black fun-
gus. We have got 6,000 injec-
tion vials. Over the next two
days, we will get 2,000 vials
more while we have placed an
order for another 5,000 vials,”
he added.
$_T^_[TSXTSdTc^
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$UHD'HKUDGXQ8WWDUDNKDQG(GLWRUKDQGDQ0LWUD$,5685+$5*(RI5H(DVWDOFXWWD5DQFKL%KXEDQHVZDU1RUWK/HK:HVW0XPEDL $KPHGDEDG6RXWK%DQJDORUH KHQQDLHQWUDO.KDMXUDKR'HOKL2IILFH1R%HKLQG*XODE%KDZDQ %DKDGXU6KDK=DIDU0DUJ1HZ'HOKL3KRQH
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- 1. 20?BD;4 1>A8B97=B=0AA84B 78B580=24420AA84 ;^]S^]) 1aXcXbW?aXTX]XbcTa 1^aXb9^W]b^]WPbPaaXTS WXbUXP]RTT2PaaXTBh^]SbX]P bP[[RTaT^]hX];^]S^]cWT 3^f]X]VBcaTTcbPXS^]Bd]SPh CWTR^d_[TcXTScWTZ]^cPccWT A^P]2PcW^[XRFTbcX]bcTa 2PcWTSaP[fXcWPbP[[Va^d_U^a cWTRTaT^]h ?' =B==B4CE4A :4A0;0C1434;0H43 =Tf3T[WX) CWTPaaXeP[^U B^dcWfTbc^]b^^]^eTa :TaP[PXb[XZT[hc^QTST[PhTSQh cf^SPhbP]SXcXb]^fTg_TRcTS c^PZTP]^]bTc^eTacWTbcPcT Qh9d]TcWT83bPXS^] Bd]SPh ?=BQ =4F34;78 Antiguan Prime Minister Gaston Browne has con- firmed that India has sent a pri- vate jet to Dominica carrying documents related to the deportation of fugitive dia- mantaire Mehul Choksi who is wanted here in a money laun- dering case linked to the Rs 13,500 crore Punjab National Bank (PNB) credit fraud scam. Meanwhile, the Antiguan media released Choksi's photos with swollen eyes and bruises on his arms. Antigua News Room, an Antiguan media outlet, report- ed that a Qatar Airways private jet landed at the Douglas- Charles airport in Dominica, fuelling speculation about Choksi's deportation. Choksi went missing from Antigua on May 23 and was subsequently detained in neigh- bouring Dominica. Browne said on a radio show that the jet came from India carrying the necessary documentation needed for deportation of Choksi, the Antiguan media report said. Yes I can confirm that a jet is there. My understanding is that the Indian Government has sent some documentation from the courts to confirm that Choksi is a fugitive. My under- standing is that it is for the court hearing scheduled on Wednesday (June 2) as the Dominica court has put a stay on his deportation. So the Indian Government seems to be going all out to ensure that he is repatriated to India and faces charges there, Browne reportedly told the radio show in his country. The Qatar Executive flight A7CEE reportedly left the Delhi airport at 3.44 PM on May 28 and reached Dominica at 13.16 local time on the same day, via Madrid. A top Dominican court has restrained Choksi's repa- triation till June 2 when it will take up the hearing of a habeas corpus petition filed by the businessman's attorneys there. Choksi's lawyer in Mumbai Vijay Agarwal has alleged that the businessman was abducted from the Jolly Harbour in Antigua and Barbuda by police- men looking like Antiguans and Indians and taken to Dominica. Antiguan Police Commissioner Atlee Rodney, however, debunked the claims of Choksi's counsel saying he had no information on him being forcefully removed. The Antiguan news outlet also released purported pictures of 62-year-old Choksi with red, swollen eyes and bruises on his arms. ?=BQ =4F34;78 Giving a ray of hope to peo- ple waiting for inoculation against Covid-19, the Government on Sunday said that nearly 12 crore doses of the vaccine would be available in June, up from the 7.94 crore doses that were available for vaccination in May. The Government's assur- ance came close on the heels of an announcement by the Serum Institute of India (SII) that it would be able to manu- facture and supply nine to 10 crore doses of Covishield in June, which is way up from its production capacity of 6.5 crore doses in May. The availability of more doses is likely to give a fillip to the Government's nationwide vaccination drive which had slowed down owing to the shortage of the jabs, resulting in the Government drawing flak from States as well as potential vaccine beneficiaries. The allocation of supplies to States and Union Territories is decided on the consumption pattern, population density and vaccine wastage, the Union Health Ministry said. Visibility for availability of vaccines for the entire month of June has been provided well in advance to States/UTs...., it added. For the month of June, 6.09 crore doses of Covid vac- cines will be supplied to the States and UTs for the vacci- nation of the priority group of healthcare workers, front-line workers and people in the 45+ category as free supply from the Government. In addition, more than 5.86 crore doses will be avail- able for direct procurement by the States/UTs and private hos- pitals. Therefore, in June, close to 12 crore doses will be avail- able for the national Covid vaccination programme, it said. The Ministry said the delivery schedule for this allo- cation would be shared with the States in advance. B0D60AB4=6D?C0Q :;:0C0 Bengal Chief Secretary (CS) Alapan Bandopadhyay may not report at North Block on Monday as directed by the Union Home Ministry, sources in the Mamata Banerjee Government said. The State Government has vehemently opposed the Centre's unilater- al order transferring an IAS offi- cer without consulting the State, sources said. Though there was no official word regarding this, sources said the CSwhohadbeendirectedbythe Centre to report on Monday would be attending pre-sched- uled meetings on the post- cyclone scenario in Kolkata. Sources said the State was preparing to meet the Centre in courtshouldasituationariseout of the CS’s non-appearance in Delhi. The Centre may either withdraw its letter or it may move court … in that case we are prepared too, a Trinamool Congress MP said adding at present it is upon our Chief Ministertohandlethesituation. The CS, who was scheduled to retire on May 31 and was grantedathree-monthextension with New Delhi’s nod, is cur- rently heading taskforces to supervise and streamline the post-cyclone relief mechanism. Mamataearlieropposedthe Centre's move to recall Bandopadhyay, as the BJP's way to bulldoze the federal sys- tem of the country just because they cannot digest the defeat in the Assembly elections. AsectionofretiredIASoffi- cers like Jawahar Sarkar said: The Centre can do nothing about it if the State sends them a polite letter pointing out the All-India Service Rules govern- ing such transfers. This officer may relax and be where he is as nothing will happen if he does not go to Delhi. Another retired officer said: Though the rule is loaded in favour of the Centre in such cases … it also stipulates that they will first have to approach the State Government seeking a central deputation and his release which they have not … in that case even if the Chief Secretary reports at North Block where is the release let- ter from the State. ?=BQ 274==08 The uncertainty about the progress of the Covid-19 curve forced the State admin- istration to extend the total lockdown till June 7. Muthuvel Karunanidhi Stalin, who had declared his opposition to any kind of lockdown during his days as the Leader of the Opposition has conceded to the request of the high power com- mittee for the continuation of lockdown only because of the unpredictable nature of the virus causing the pandemic. While Chief Minister Stalin's opposition to the lock- down is attributed to his appre- hension about the poorer sec- tions of society, many persons and institutions in the State are on a mission to feed the less privileged affected by the pan- demic. Every morning, heavy trucks belonging to Madras Regimental Centre, Wellington, set on their trip to the hither- to unexplored regions in the High Ranges in search of poor people to provide them two square meals of food. The soldiers, popularly known as Thambis (Tamil for brothers) carry food packets with steaming idli, vada, sam- bar, chutney and lunch that consists of rice and half a dozen vegetable curries. This is in sync with our motto ‘Har Kaam Desh Ke Naam’. We provide assistance in the form of cooked food pack- ets to the poor daily wage earners, labourers and to the needy in the far flung areas of the Nilgiris district, said a MRC Wellington spokesper- son. These villagers are the ones who are deprived of their liveli- hood and daily income because of Covid-19 and the lockdown. The Thambis get the satisfac- tion of their life when they see the smiling faces of these poor village folk, said the spokesman. In the adjoining district of Tirupur, it is a homemaker Indira Sundaram who has earned the goodwill of the people by her selfless services. Everyday she sets on her own with packed food packets in search of the poor and needy and feeds more than 500 households in the city. This is all I could do. I get the food cooked in my house itself with the help of a cater- er. Of late many citizens gave come forward offering financial assistance in this mission to provide food to the people, said Sundaram. Tirupur an industrial hub and also the knitwear capital of India has many migrant labourers from far away States who have been affected by the lockdown. In Erode district, a school principal by name Clement Premkumar moves around in a cart with food packets. When he launched the free meals for the poor people, he was alone in the venture. Seeing this 44-year-old man's initiative, others too joined his bandwagon. Pandemic may take time to subside. But the Thambis of MRC, Indira Sundaram, Clement Premkumar and hun- dreds like them would ensure that no starvation deaths take place in Tamil Nadu. ?`VWW`cee`XVe 4Y`dZdaRcVU 'HSRUWDWLRQ SDSHUVIORZQ WR'RPLQLFD $QWLJXDQ30 FUGRVHVWRDOOHYLDWHYD[ZRHV D::e`cR^afaac`UfTeZ`_Wc`^'Tc U`dVdZ_Rje`!Tc[RSdZ_;f_V ?=BQ =4F34;78 Asserting that all hands were on deck in the ongoing pandemic that was the kind of health emergency that occurred once in 100 years, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said that the pro- duction of oxygen in the coun- try had increased ten times and people were working with a team spirit to defeat the Coronavirus outbreak. During his monthly radio programme 'Mann Ki Baat', the Prime Minister said the coun- try's courage and determina- tion had increased manifold as Covid-19 posed a big chal- lenge before it. In the normal course, we were producing 900 metric tonnes of liquid medical oxy- gen in a day. Today, the pro- duction has gone up to 9,500 metric tonnes a day — an increase of almost 10 per cent, said Modi while underlining his Government's efforts in fighting coronavirus. He said oxygen trans- portation to hospitals was tak- ing place with speed, dedica- tion and with the cooperation of all, including truck drivers, the Railways, the Indian Air Force (IAF) pilots, Army per- sonnel and Navy ship Captains. During the second wave of Covid-19, a major challenge was to supply medical oxygen to remote areas. To counter challenges that the country faced, drivers of cryogenic oxy- gen tankers helped by working on a war footing and saved lives of lakhs of people, said Modi. ?=BQ =4F34;78 The Ministry of Labour and Employment on Sunday announced additional bene- fits for workers through the ESIC and EPFO schemes to address their fear and anxiety about the well-being of their family members due to Covid- 19-related deaths. The Government has planned to provide enhanced social security to workers with- out any additional cost to the employers. Currently for the Insured Persons (IPs) under ESIC, after death or disablement of the IP due to employment injury a pension equivalent to 90 per cent of average daily wage drawn by the worker is avail- able to the spouse and widowed mother for life long and for children till they attain the age of 25 years. For the female child, the benefit is available till her marriage. To support the families of Insured Persons (IP) under the ESIC scheme, it has been decided that, all dependent family members of IPs who have been registered in the online portal of the ESIC prior to their diagnosis of Covid dis- ease and subsequent death due to the disease, will be entitled to receive the same benefits and in the same scale as received by the dependents of insured per- sons who die as a result of employment injury, said Ministry in a statement. As per the new order, the amount of maximum benefit has been increased from 6 lakhs to 7 lakhs to the family members of deceased employ- ees. Restoration of provision of minimum 2.5 lakh compensa- tion retrospectively from February 15, 2020, said the cir- cular issued by the Labour Ministry. 0=8Q ;=3= Amid calls for a fresh probe into the origins of Covid- 19, an explosive new study has found that Chinese scien- tists created the virus in a lab in Wuhan, then tried to cover their tracks by reverse-engi- neering versions of the virus to make it look like it evolved nat- urally from bats. The novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2virushasnocred- ible natural ancestor and was created by Chinese scientists who were working on a 'Gain of Function' project in a Wuhan lab, the Daily Mail reported on Sunday, citing a new research paper by British professor Angus Dalgleish and Norwegian scientist Dr Birger Sorensen. The new research claims that scientists took a natural coronavirus backbone found in Chinese cave bats and spliced onto it a new spike, turning it into the deadly and highly transmissible Covid- 19. The paper also quotes that researchers found unique fin- gerprints in Covid-19 samples that they say could only have arisen from manipulation in a laboratory. Authors Dalgleish and Sorensen wrote in their paper that they had prima facie evidence of retro-engineering in China' for a year, but were ignored by academics and major journals, reported DailyMail.com. 0WTP[cWf^aZTaPSX]XbcTabP2^eXbWXT[SePRRX]Tc^PP]SdaX]VPb_TRXP[ePRRX]PcX^]SaXeTWT[SPcP6^eTa]T]cbRW^^[X] 7hSTaPQPS^]Bd]SPh 0? 2WX]TbTbRXT]cXbcbRaTPcTScWT eXadbX]P[PQX]FdWP])BcdSh %HQJDO6XQOLNHOWR UHSRUWWR'HOKLWRGD 5ZUZVRc]ZVc`aa`dVU eYV4V_ecVd^`gVe` cVTR]]3R_U`aRUYjRj ;PQ^daX]Xbcahc^VXeT PSSXcX^]P[QT]TUXcbd]STa 4?54B82bRWTTb 2]]eVR^:_UZR YR_Ud`_UVTe` WZXYe4`gZU+A 2 SURGXFWLRQXS WHQWLPHVQDWLRQ ZRUNLQJDVRQH 2IILFHUVDQGJHQWOHPHQWRWKHDLGRIWKHSRRULQ71 4`gZU* :?:?5:2 CC0;20B4B) !'# # ## 340C7B)!( # % A42E4A43) !$%$(%# ! !% 02C8E4)!# #%' 070)$ ' $ '% :´C0:0)!$''!!' :4A0;0)!$ #!' ('(# D?) %( % '%# 34;78) #!$$(!(#% ?=BQ =4F34;78 The Government has warned hotels against offering stay vaccination packages after reports that some hospitality sector players had started com- ing up with these schemes. Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan tweeted, Hotels offering Covid-19 vac- cination packages shall face strict legal action! Such activ- ities are in contravention of rules under the national Covid vaccination programme and must cease immediately. The Ministry wrote to all States on Saturday, saying it had come to its notice that some private hospitals are giving packages for Covid vaccination in collaboration with some hotels, which is against (rules). The Centre has pointed out in the letter there are four available options for vaccina- tion — Government centres; private hospitals; at Government and private offices and near to home centres for the elderly and differently- abled. 9`eV]d`WWVcZ_X gRiaRTRXVd dYR]]WRTV]VXR] RTeZ`_+Z_ B^[SXTab^UA2FT[[X]Vc^]UTTSX]VcWT_^^aX]=X[VXaXbX]W^b_XcPQ[TcTaaPX]b ?X^]TTa_W^c^ CWTb^[SXTab_^_d[Pa[hZ]^f] PbCWPQXbCPX[U^a Qa^cWTabRPaahU^^S_PRZTcb fXcWbcTPX]VXS[XePSP bPQPaRWdc]ThP]S[d]RW cWPcR^]bXbcb^UaXRTP]SWP[UP S^iT]eTVTcPQ[TRdaaXTb /CWT3PX[h?X^]TTa UPRTQ^^ZR^SPX[h_X^]TTa 7`]]`hfd`_+ fffSPX[h_X^]TTaR^ X]bcPVaPR^SPX[h_X^]TTa ;PcT2Xch E^[ $ 8bbdT #' 0XaBdaRWPaVT4gcaPXU0__[XRPQ[T ?dQ[XbWTS5a^ 34;78;D2:=F 17?0;17D10=4BF0A A0=278A08?DA 270=3860A7 347A03D= 7H34A0103E890HF030 4bcPQ[XbWTS '%# 51,1R5HJQ877(1*5(*'1R8$'2''1 347A03D==30H0H !! *?064B !C! @A:?:@?' 8=380³B8BA4038=65 C74278=4B4B8CD0C8= DA@CE# 0AH:B4CC;4B 5AB8;E4A m m H@C=5) 8BA04;46H?CC0;: CAD24F8C7700B 554D?;55@ 1BD19F5* C9481BD8 ! F9F139DI
- 2. ]PcX^]! 347A03D=k=30H k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·VZLOOQRWEHKHOGUHVSRQVLEOHIRUDQNLQGRIFODLPPDGHEWKHDGYHUWLVHUVRIWKHSURGXFWV VHUYLFHVDQGVKDOOQRWEHPDGHUHVSRQVLEOHIRUDQNLQGRIORVVFRQVHTXHQFHVDQGIXUWKHUSURGXFWUHODWHGGDPDJHVRQVXFKDGYHUWLVHPHQWV ?=BQ 347A03D= Bharatiya Janata Party MPs,MLAs and workers participated in various service works in urban and rural areas as part of the Seva Hi Sangathan programme to mark seven years of the central gov- ernment under Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday. Ration kits, masks, sanitisers and other items were distrib- uted among citizens on the occasion. At a programme held in Pratitnagar Valmiki Basti in Rishikesh Assembly con- stituency, BJP national gener- al secretary and State in-charge Dushyant Kumar Gautam and the local MLA and Assembly speaker Prem Chand Agrawal while in Haridwar Gautam along with BJP state president and Haridwar MLA Madan Kaushik distributed relief mate- rials at various places. Speaking at the event in Rishikesh, Gautam said that the BJP is organising various pro- grammes for protection from Covid while also raising pub- lic awareness. He said that some confu- sion is being spread but people should wear masks, observe social distancing and frequently wash hands for protection from Covid-19. He averred that the BJP government at the centre had served the public with dedica- tion across the nation during the pandemic. He also spoke in detail about the various works of the party. Kaushik said that BJP workers had conducted service works in villages across Uttarakhand. The party work- ers had distributed masks, hand sanitisers, ration kits and other important items to those requiring these. Former chief minister and Doiwala MLA, Trivendra Singh Rawat attend- ed a blood donation camp held in the Nawada area of his constituency. Similarly, the party’s state general secretary (organisa- tion) Ajey participated in a blood donation camp in Dharmpur Assembly con- stituency, MP Ajay Bhatt par- ticipated in events at Haldwani, Ramnagar and Kotabagh, MP Ajay Tamta attended events in Bajeti village in his con- stituency and state general sec- retary Rajendra Bhandari attended an event in Thano vil- lage. Other MLAs and office bearers of the party also attend- ed programmes for distribution of relief material and similar events in various parts of the state to mark the occasion. ?=BQ 347A03D= Taking a dig at the Seva Diwas programme organ- ised by the BJP on Sunday, the Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) president Pritam Singh said that perturbed by its slid- ing graph the BJP had entered a damage control mode. He said that when the pandemic was at its peak and the destruc- tion prevailed everywhere the BJP and its leaders had isolat- ed themselves. Singh was speaking after sitting on a fast at the state headquarters of the party here on Sunday. The protest was organised against poor health services and spiralling prices. He said that the general public is reel- ing under corruption, price rise and unemployment and BJP by changing the CM has proved that its government has done nothing in the last four and half years in Uttarakhand. Singh said that the state government has failed in tackling the pandemic of Covid- 19 and Black fungus disease. He said that instead of discussing assembly elections slated next year in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand the BJP had discussed ways of controlling the pandemic in its core group. He said that instead of providing relief the state gov- ernment has hiked the tariff of electricity. The cooking gas cylinder is costing more than Rs 900, the petrol Rs 95 and diesel Rs 90. Singh said that the ‘Sewa Diwas’ is a mere political stunt and exposes the slander politics of BJP. Launching into an attack on the Narendra Modi gov- ernment for playing vaccine diplomacy, the PCC presidents said that the government exported 6.08 Crore vaccines to other countries and now when vaccine shortage has hit the country it is now importing the vaccine. He said that the gov- ernment should have made adequate arrangements for vac- cines before starting the vac- cine campaign ( Tika Utsav). He said that the Union gov- ernment should have provided the vaccines to the states but it has abdicated this responsibil- ity and has put the onus of get- ting vaccines on the states. The PCC president said that while 50 percent of the popu- lation of many countries has been vaccinated, only 3 percent of the population is vaccinated in India. Former MLA Rajkumar, general secretary (organisa- tion) Vijay Saraswat, vice pres- idents Surya Kant Dhasmana, Aryendra Sharma, Lal Chand Sharma, Navin Payal, Pratima Singh and other Congress lead- ers attended the protest. ?=BQ 347A03D= The claim of the Chief MinisterTirathSinghRawat that the sugar is being provided for the first time in Public Distribution System (PDS) shops after independence in the state by his government has elicitedasharpreactionfromthe Uttarakhand Congress. Terming the statement of CM as proof of his lack of knowledge, the Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) president Pritam Singh said, “I want to remind him that sugar was available at Rs 13.65 per kg in ration shops during the Congress regime. The CM should have consulted his offi- cers before making such an ignorant statement,’’ he said. Known for giving state- ments which draw attention and attract controversy, CM Rawat said in a programme in Uttarkashi on Saturday, “Sugar was never given since indepen- dence, not even during disasters and bad times. We are giving sugar for three months along with grain.’’ However, later CM clarified that sugar is being given for the first time in a disaster. It is pertinent to mention herethattheRawatcabinetinits meeting on Friday had decided to provide two kg of sugar at Rs 25perkgtoallration card hold- ers. CUfQ4YgQcQWY]]YS[Ri 2:@*@33`bUcYTU^d DVgR9ZDR_XReYR_3;AUZdecZSfeVdcV]ZVWZeV^d BTeP7XBP]VPcWP] _a^VaPTc^PaZ bTeT]hTPab^UcWT RT]caP[V^eTa]T]c d]STa?aXTX]XbcTa =PaT]SaP^SX^] Bd]SPh CeWQbVb_]bQdY_^ cX_`c+3_^WbUcc S_bbUSdc3=BQgQd =8:00;8:Q 270=3860A7 Reduced to just about six leg- islative assemblies across India, the Congress party is vir- tually leaving no stone unturned to retain power in Punjab. Just about eight months to go before the crucial 2022 Punjab assembly elec- tions, the Congress national vice-president Rahul Gandhi and the party high command constituted a three-member panel are simultaneously engaged in talks with the state party leaders to resolve the ongoing crisis. On one hand, the high command-constituted three- member panel is set to start a series of meetings for the next three days in the national cap- ital to resolve the growing resentment within the Punjab party unit by holding one-to- one meetings with the party leaders; on the other hand, Rahul Gandhi on Sunday per- sonally called up state leaders, including three Ministers and some MLAs, to take direct feedback. To start with, the panel — comprising the Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge, state party affairs in-charge Harish Rawat, and former MP JP Agarwal — will kickstart the round of meetings with the Punjab Congress president Sunil Jakhar, followed by party MLAs, MPs, former presi- dents, among others, over the next three days. The murmurs of dissent within the state party unit over the State Government’s performance in Punjab, led by several senior leaders includ- ing the Ministers, has now turned into boisterous voices of rebellion affecting the party’s image in a run up to the state assembly polls, which are slat- ed to be held early next year. Returning from over a year-long political hiberna- tion, former Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu opened a front against his own party’s gov- ernment, especially the Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh, over the unfulfilled pre- poll promises of punishing the guilty of sacrilege and related firing cases besides the drugs trade. Also, the Punjab and Haryana High Court’s adverse order in Kotkapura firing inci- dent came as a vindication of Sidhu’s criticism of the Government, and many more party leaders, including Ministers, upped the ante against the Chief Minister. The situation turned so bad that senior party leaders, including Cabinet Ministers Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa and Charanjit Singh Channi, Rajya Sabha MPs Partap Singh Bajwa and Shamsher Singh Dullo, MLAs Pargat Singh, Surjit Singh Dhiman, and many others, held a series of closed-door meetings to press upon the Government to ensure punishment to the guilty, the Badals, in the sacri- lege cases, before the ensuing elections. If that was not enough, the reports of Vigilance action against Sidhu, a case against Randhawa’s personal assistant, an old ‘Me Too’ case against Channi, and “threats” of “action” against Pargat Singh came to fore, with the anti- Capt Amarinder camp decry- ing “vendetta” for raising their voices. Virtually, the state party unit was divided into two power centres. Seeing things getting out of hand, the party high com- mand set up a three-member panel to resolve the internal issues in the state party unit, especially between the Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh and Navjot Singh Sidhu. Besides Jakhar, the panel has also invited 25 legislators for the meeting, scheduled to be held in New Delhi on Monday, to take their feedback on the ongoing tussle in the party. “We will talk to the grass- root leaders, the responsible leaders…We will meet the Chief Minister, party presi- dent, Bajwa, Sidhu, Dullo, Ministers like Channi…We will talk to everyone…First, we will talk to the MLAs, then MPs, and then former presidents, and if possible, we will also go Chandigarh and see if some other leaders also wanted to meet us,” Rawat told The Pioneer. Rawat said, “We will hold a one to one meeting with everyone so that all leaders can talk to us freely and without any pressure. Our effort would be to understand things and find out ways to put up a unit- ed fight in the next elections by resolving all differences.” He said that senior leaders, including Ambika Soni, Ashwani Kumar, among oth- ers, would also be invited for the meeting. “We have no preconceived notions about anything…the meetings will be held in a comfortable envi- ronment and with open mind, and we are hopeful to bring all leaders together to put up a united face,” he added. It has been learnt that the panel would wrap up its meet- ings with the leaders by the first week of June, reportedly by June 2-3, and subsequent- ly submit its report to the Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi for a final deci- sion. The main challenge ahead the panel is to look for the ways how senior leaders, espe- cially Sidhu, could be accom- modated, as all previous efforts to bridge the gap between him and the Chief Minister proved futile. “As I have already said many times earlier also, Sidhu is a strong leader…he is the party’s future. What role he will get is on the party to decide…My previous efforts could not provide result, but once again, we, as a panel, would make efforts and let’s see how Sidhu and Capt saab would respond…We will find a way through this panel,” said Rawat adding that both Capt Amarinder and Sidhu are senior leaders and we have to find the way out between the two. As of now, Sidhu is insist- ing that he should be appoint- ed the state unit president or Deputy Chief Minister — demands categorically denied by the Chief Minister. Accommodating Sidhu on any of the positions would provide him with an opportunity to checkmate Capt Amarinder in the distribution of tickets in the coming Assembly polls. However, Capt Amarinder had offered to make Sidhu a part of his Council of Ministers. Jakhar, who has already reached the national capital to meet the three-member panel, said that he was yet to know the exact agenda for the meet- ing and would see how the talks move forward. TQTa_P]T[c^bcPacTTcX]VbUa^ c^SPh*AP6Pc^^_Tab^]P[[hRP[[bd_[TPSTab 2aXbXbX]2^]VaTbb ?=BQ 270=3860A7 Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Sunday said that 50 people have died due to black fungus or mucormycosis in the state so far, while 650 more are under- going treatment for the infec- tion in various hospitals. “There have been over 750 cases of black fungus in Haryana so far. Fifty-eight have been cured while 50 people have lost their lives and 650 patients are undergoing treat- ment, the Chief Minister said while addressing a digital press conference here. He said that the government is procuring the Amphotericin B injection used in treatment of black fun- gus. We have got 6,000 injec- tion vials. Over the next two days, we will get 2,000 vials more while we have placed an order for another 5,000 vials,” he added. $_T^_[TSXTSdTc^ Q[PRZUd]VdbX]7Pah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
- 3. dccPaPZWP]S 347A03D=k=30H k0H !! Dr Gaurav Sanjay Each year World No Tobacco Day is observed on May 31. This day serves as a reminder to raise awareness about the dangers of smoking and to encourage smokers to quit the habit of smoking around the world. The habits of smoking and chewing tobacco have been prevalent in the society since hundreds of years, across all civilizations and cultures in dif- ferent forms. Smoking, dhuma- pana (literally drinking smoke), has been practiced for at least 2,000 years in India and has been first mentioned in Atharvaveda. Although, the overall smoking rate worldwide has decreased but the number of smokers has increased due to increased population. There are more than a billion smok- ers worldwide, over 80 per cent of them live in developing countries. According to WHO, India is home to 120 million that is 12 per cent of the world’s smokers and more than 10 mil- lion of them die each year due to tobacco consumption.Another global adult tobacco survey India (India GATS2) showed that India is home to over 27 crore tobacco users.Globally it is the second largest producer and consumer of tobacco prod- ucts.This is preventable and can be prevented only with the effort of both government and society. The ill effects of tobacco are known to cause respirato- ry disorders such as COPD, oral and lung cancers.Smoking precipitates hypertension and cardiac problems.The negative impact of tobacco smoking on health are well established and known to the society. There is a statutory warning on each pack of cigarette or tobacco pouch reminding the con- sumer the negative effects of smoking. Covid-19 virus usually affects the respiratory sys- tem.Think of your respiratory tract as an upside-down tree. The trunk is your trachea, or windpipe. It splits into smaller and smaller branches in your lungs. At the end of each branch are tiny air sacs called alveoli. This is where oxygen goes into your blood and car- bon dioxide comes out.The novel coronavirus can infect the upper or lower part of your respiratory tract. If it travels down your airways, the lining can become irritated and inflamed. In some cases, the infection can reach all the way down into your alveoli. Covid-19 is a still a new condition and scientists are learning more every day about what it can do to your lungs. They believe that the effects on your body are similar to those of two other coronavirus dis- eases, severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS). As the infection trav- els in your respiratory tract, your immune system fights back. Your lungs and airways swell and become inflamed. This can start in one part of your lung and spread.About 80 per cent people who have Covid get mild to moderate symptoms. You may have a dry cough or a sore throat. Some people have pneumonia, a lung infection in which the alveoli are inflamed. There are not many scien- tific research papers on the effect of smoking on the Covid- 19 infection. A review of liter- ature has revealed that 34 peer review studies have shown that smokers constituted 1.4 to 18.5 per cent of the hospitalised adults. In another study it was found that a there is a statisti- cally significant association between smoking and severity of Covid-19 cases.The available evidence suggests that even passive smoke exposure is harmful. Tobacco smoking is known to increase the heart rate and blood pressure and increase of carbon mono oxide level in the blood stream. WHO recom- mends quitting tobacco use in every way and suggests that within 20 minutes of quitting the elevated heart rate and blood pressure drops, within three months of quitting, blood circulation improves and lung function increases and after 3- 9 months coughing and short- ness of breath distress improves. Quitting will not save the patients but also their loved ones,especially children from exposure to passive smok- ing. Tobacco is a known risk factor to predispose to infection like TB of lungs and cancer of oral cavity and the lungs. In addition to that nicotine can causes hypertension, heart fail- ure, cancer and blindness. The habit of smoking is injurious to health. Considering the role of smoking which increased the severity of illness in Covid the Ministry of Health and Welfare, Government of India issued a warning on May 11, 2020 against the use of any tobacco products during Covid-19 pan- demic and took measures to reduce tobacco use given its potential to increase likelihood of virus infection while exhal- ing respirators droplets, spitting and sharing of the bidi or cig- arette etc. The Covid-19 pandemic is an opportunity to increase awareness to quit tobacco use in every form. Tobacco con- tains nicotine which is respon- sible for constriction of periph- eral arteries which leads to gan- grene usually of the limbs. A noted Indian cardiologist, emphasised in a recent webinar that hypertension, Covid-19 and tobacco are a deadly triad. The author has an experience of treating many patients of peripheral vascular disease and gangrene and in these patients whenever there is a need of painkillers, they do not give them as much relief as to the general populations. Smoking itself decrease the tolerance of pain and nicotine blunts the effect of painkillers. This becomes a challenge espe- cially after any surgery in these patients. The management of pain in these patients becomes difficult because pain is usual- ly ischemic and these patients are usually advised to stop smoking. As is known, smok- ing is an addiction and because of that smokers suffer physio- logical and psychological impacts on the body and brain. The problem should be under- stood not only by the patient and the treating team but the family as well. Any kind of tobacco con- sumption predisposes a person to many diseases. The habit of smoking and chewing tobacco usually starts in teenage. Hence, there should be strict ban of tobacco sale in or around schools and others education institutes. All forms of adver- tisement about tobacco sale should be prohibited in mass media, merely statuary warn- ing that smoking is injurious to health is not enough in cases of children and people those who are ignorant and illiterate. *8(672/801 AXbZbUa^c^QPRR^dbTSdaX]V2^eXS_P]STXR ?=BQ 347A03D= Much to the relief of the general public and the State Government the number of novel Coronavirus (Covid- 19) cases in Uttarakhand is decreasing at a rapid pace. The state health department report- ed 1226 new patients of the dis- ease on Sunday which is the least number in the month of May. The department also stat- ed that 1927 patients of the dis- ease recovered on the day. The cumulative count of the patients of Covid-19 in the state is at 3,28,338 while a total of 2,85,889 patients have recovered from the disease so far. The State health department reported the death of 32 patients from the disease on Sunday which increased the death toll to 6401 in the state. A total of 22766 samples were sent for testing on Sunday and the sample positiv- ity rate is at 6.89 percent. Out of the 32 deaths report- ed on Sunday, four each occurred at Government Doon Medical college (GDMC) hos- pital Dehradun and All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Rishikesh while three deaths each occurred at Arogyadham Hospital Dehradun, Himalayan hospital and Sushila Tiwari government hospital Haldwani. Similarly two patients succumbed to the disease at Sai Hospital, Nainital. The authorities also added nine such deaths in the toll on Sunday which had occurred in the past but were not reported earlier. Six of these deaths were reported in Haridwar district alone. Themountainousdistrict of Pithoragarh reported the highest number of new cases of Covid -19 on Sunday. Here 276 new cases were reported. Dehradun reported 241, Haridwar 159, Pauri 100, Tehri 94, Udham Singh Nagar 89, Chamoli 87, Nainital 59, Rudraprayag 50, Uttarkashi 24, Champawat 22, Almora 21 and Bageshwar four new cases of the disease on Sunday. The state now has 30,357 active patients of the disease. Haridwar is the top position in the list of active cases with 7,573 cases. Dehradun is on sec- ond position with 3937 cases, Pauri 3,175, Chamoli 2,418, Udham Singh Nagar 2,256, Pithoragarh 1,894, Tehri 1,837, Nainital 1,696, Rudraprayag 1,464, Almora 1,340, Bageshwar 1,038, Uttarkashi 954 and Champawat 775 active cases of the disease. The State now has 198 patients of Mucormycosis ( Black Fungus) and out of them 15 have died while 13 have recovered from the disease. To contain the contagion of Covid-19, the state administra- tion has set up 370 containment zones in different parts of the state.Intheongoingvaccination drive 12,364 people were vacci- nated in 364 sessions in differ- ent parts of the state on Sunday. A total of 6,83,285 people have been fully vaccinated while 22,16,968 have received the first dose of the vaccine in the State. ##'_Vh4`gZUTRdVd*#( cVT`gVcZVdZ_F¶YR_U`_Df_ ?=BQ 347A03D= In a clear indication that con- tagion of Covid-19 is on a downhill path in Uttarakhand, the lowest number of new cases of the disease in the last one and half month were reported in the week ending May 29. In the week which is the 63rd week ever since the first patient of the disease was detected in Uttarakhand on March 15 last year, a total of 16643 cases were reported. The data kept by the Social Development for Communities (SDC) foundation shows that 44856 and 27230 cases were reported in the 61st and 62nd weeks respectively. The highest weekly cases were reported in week number 60th (May 2 -8) when 4030481 cases were reported. The week ending May 29 also had the lowest positivity rate (6.44 %) and least number of active cases ( 31110) in the last six weeks. The 63rd week also reported the lowest num- ber of deaths (626) in the last five weeks and highest tests (2,58601) in the last four weeks. In the week ending May 29, the health department reported 42,523 recoveries while in the previous week 62nd more than 47000 recoveries were report- ed. The founder of SDC Foundation Anoop Nautiyal said that though things are improving, the authorities should continue to focus on the strategy of more testing, isola- tion, containment and vacci- nation. ;^fTbc]Tf RPbTb_^bXcXeXch aPcTP]SPRcXeT _PcXT]cb^U SXbTPbTX][Pbc ^]TP]SPWP[U ^]cWb 6RPHUHOLHILQVLJKWIURPRYLG SDQGHPLFLQ8WWDUDNKDQG ?=BQ 347A03D= Chief Minister Tirath Singh Rawat virtually inaugurat- ed a 500x2 LPM oxygen gen- eration plant at the base hos- pital in Almora medical college and a 216 LPM plant in the Almora district hospital on Sunday. These are the first oxygen plants to be set up in the mountainous part of Kumaon region. Rawat said that these plants will benefit patients in Almora and nearby districts. He said that after medical colleges and district hospitals, the govern- ment is facilitating oxygen plants at the level of commu- nity health centres. The CM reiterated that preparations should be com- pleted for the third wave of Covid-19, adding that the state government is undertaking all possible efforts to control the pandemic. He further said that the testing average in Uttarakhand is higher than in other states. Rawat said that the major- ity of those aged above 45 years have been vaccinated in Uttarakhand. The State is receiving vac- cines from time to time from the Centre. Efforts are also being undertaken to import vaccines from other nations to speed up vaccination of those aged above 18 years. Efforts are also being undertaken to start academic session in the Almora medical college, he added. Almora MP Ajay Tamta said that the setting up of oxy- gen plants in Almora will also benefit people in Bageshwar, Chamoli and Pithoragarh dis- tricts. State minister and minister in-charge of Covid works in Almora district, Rekha Arya said that various steps are being taken to improve health services. An oxygen plant will be ready soon in Someshwar, she added. Vidhan Sabha deputy speaker Raghunath Singh Chauhan and Almora district magistrate Nitin Bhadauriya also spoke on the occasion. 0LQDXJXUDWHVWZRR[JHQSODQWVLQ$OPRUD ?=BQ 347A03D= Chief Minister Tirath Singh Rawat commended the efforts of party workers and local residents for helping the public in Pauri and Almora dis- tricts amidst the Covid pan- demic. He said this while inter- acting virtually with Bharatiya Janata Party workers involved in the Seva Hi Sangathan pro- gramme on Sunday. He said that under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the state has achieved all round development while the Covid situation has also been brought under control. Speaking on the occasion, Rawat stressed on the impor- tance of organised and com- bined efforts against Covid-19. Compared to the past, the sit- uation of the second wave of Covid is now under control to a great extent. He said that the people had followed the Covid curfew and guidelines due to which the state is now in a bet- ter position. The CM said that the gov- ernment has made all arrange- ments to ensure that nobody faces inconvenience in Covid testing in both urban and rural areas. Medical teams are work- ing in villages where arrange- ments have been made for various essentials from medi- cines to ration. The State Government is attempting to facilitate oxygen plants from district hospitals to community health centres to prevent any oxygen related issues. He also claimed that majority of those aged above 45 years had been vaccinated in the state. Arrangements have also been made for the safety of children. He exhorted all to strongly face the difficult situ- ations resulting from the pan- demic. Rawat also commend- ed the work done by social workers and the general pub- lic in rural areas. ?=BQ 347A03D= Chest and respiratory disease expert at Himalayan hos- pital, Jolly Grant, Dr Rakhi Khanduri has said that the risk of severity of infection of Covid-19 and fatality from the disease in tobacco users is 50 per cent higher than the non users. She said that the use of tobacco has a deteriorating effect on the immunity of the body due to which the body becomes more vulnerable to attack of the virus. Dr Khanduri said that the theme of this year’s World No Tobacco day is ‘commit to quit’ which is quite appropriate considering the prevailing pandemic. She said that use of tobac- co damages the layer of lungs due to which they become more sensitive to the contagion of Covid-19. Tobacco use also affects immunity. Dr Khanduri said that the habitual tobacco users tend to spit more due to secretion of saliva which increases the chances of spread- ing the infection. She said that with a strong will power one can say no to the use of tobac- co. Dr Khanduri said that med- itation helps in overcoming stress and desire for use of tobacco. 3=QeTcUVV_bdc_V `Qbdig_b[UbcSYdYjU^c Q]YTcd`Q^TU]YS D_RQSS_ecUbcQd% XYWXUbbYc[Vb_]3_fYT!)
- 4. ]PcX^]# 347A03D=k=30H k0H !! ?=BQ =4F34;78 On the completion of seven years of his Government, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday evoked “national pride” and asserted that India moved ahead with its own thought and did not come under any outside pressure. Modi also reminded peo- ple in his monthly radio talk that in the last seven years, India made “no compromise on national security”. “Together, we have experi- enced many moments of national pride in these years. When we observe that now India moves ahead not with the thought and pressure of other countries but with her own conviction,” said Modi. Without going into specif- ic issues, the Prime Minister said that country’s confidence has gone high as it now gives “fitting reply” to “those con- spiring against us”. “When we witness that now India gives a befitting reply to those who conspire against us, then our confi- dence soars. When India does not compromise on the issues of national security, when the strength of our armed forces increases, we feel that yes, we are on the right path,” the Prime Minister said listing achievements of his govern- ment in last seven years. He said the country could achieve many a milestones in few previous years which did not happen in decades. Modi said over seven years, the country has followed the mantra of ‘Sabka-Saath, Sabka- Vikas,Sabka-Vishwas’.“Allofus have worked every moment with dedication in the service of the country. Many friends have sent me letters and said that in ‘MannKiBaat’,Ishouldalsodis- cuss our mutual journey of 7 years”, he said. Manypeoplearethankfulto the country that electricity has reached their village for the first time in 70 years, that their sons and daughters are studying in the light, under the fan. Many people say that our village too is now connected to the city by a paved road, said Prime Minister. Modirecalledthatjusta few days ago, a family from a village senthimaphotoofthewatertap installedintheirhouseunderthe ‘Jal Jeevan Mission’. “They had captioned the photo ‘ mere gaonkijeevandhara’-thelifeline of my village, there are many such families,” he said. In the seven decades after Independence, Modi said, only three and a half crore rural homes of our country had water connections. “However, just in the last 21 months, four and a half crore houses have been given clean water connections. Of these, 15 months were of the Corona period,” he pointed out. A similar confidence has cometothecountrythroughthe ‘Ayushman Yojana’. When the poor come home healthy with freetreatment,theyfeelthatthey have got a new life, he said. “Friends, in these 7 years, India has worked to show the world a new direction in digital transactions. Today, you can make digital payments with absolute ease at any place; it is proving very useful even in this time of Corona, “ Modi said. Modi reminded that “many old contentious issues” of the country have also been resolved with complete peace and har- mony and a “new confidence of peace and development” has arisen from the northeast to Kashmir. ?=BQ =4F34;78 On the completion of seven years of his Government, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday evoked “national pride” and asserted that India moved ahead with its own thought and did not come under any outside pressure. Modi also reminded peo- ple in his monthly radio talk that in the last seven years, India made “no compromise on national security”. “Together, we have experi- enced many moments of national pride in these years. When we observe that now India moves ahead not with the thought and pressure of other countries but with her own conviction,” said Modi. Without going into specif- ic issues, the Prime Minister said that country’s confidence has gone high as it now gives “fitting reply” to “those con- spiring against us”. “When we witness that now India gives a befitting reply to those who conspire against us, then our confi- dence soars. When India does not compromise on the issues of national security, when the strength of our armed forces increases, we feel that yes, we are on the right path,” the Prime Minister said listing achievements of his govern- ment in last seven years. He said the country could achieve many a milestones in few previous years which did not happen in decades. Modi said over seven years, the country has followed the mantra of ‘Sabka-Saath, Sabka- Vikas,Sabka-Vishwas’.“Allofus have worked every moment with dedication in the service of the country. Many friends have sent me letters and said that in ‘MannKiBaat’,Ishouldalsodis- cuss our mutual journey of 7 years”, he said. Manypeoplearethankfulto the country that electricity has reached their village for the first time in 70 years, that their sons and daughters are studying in the light, under the fan. Many people say that our village too is now connected to the city by a paved road, said Prime Minister. Modirecalledthatjusta few days ago, a family from a village senthimaphotoofthewatertap installedintheirhouseunderthe ‘Jal Jeevan Mission’. “They had captioned the photo ‘ mere gaonkijeevandhara’-thelifeline of my village, there are many such families,” he said. In the seven decades after Independence, Modi said, only three and a half crore rural homes of our country had water connections. “However, just in the last 21 months, four and a half crore houses have been given clean water connections. Of these, 15 months were of the Corona period,” he pointed out. A similar confidence has cometothecountrythroughthe ‘Ayushman Yojana’. When the poor come home healthy with freetreatment,theyfeelthatthey have got a new life, he said. “Friends, in these 7 years, India has worked to show the world a new direction in digital transactions. Today, you can make digital payments with absolute ease at any place; it is proving very useful even in this time of Corona, “ Modi said. Modi reminded that “many old contentious issues” of the country have also been resolved with complete peace and har- mony and a “new confidence of peace and development” has arisen from the northeast to Kashmir. ?=BQ =4F34;78 On the completion of seven years of his Government, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday evoked “national pride” and asserted that India moved ahead with its own thought and did not come under any outside pressure. Modi also reminded peo- ple in his monthly radio talk that in the last seven years, India made “no compromise on national security”. “Together, we have experi- enced many moments of national pride in these years. When we observe that now India moves ahead not with the thought and pressure of other countries but with her own conviction,” said Modi. Without going into specif- ic issues, the Prime Minister said that country’s confidence has gone high as it now gives “fitting reply” to “those con- spiring against us”. “When we witness that now India gives a befitting reply to those who conspire against us, then our confi- dence soars. When India does not compromise on the issues of national security, when the strength of our armed forces increases, we feel that yes, we are on the right path,” the Prime Minister said listing achievements of his govern- ment in last seven years. He said the country could achieve many a milestones in few previous years which did not happen in decades. Modi said over seven years, the country has followed the mantra of ‘Sabka-Saath, Sabka- Vikas,Sabka-Vishwas’.“Allofus have worked every moment with dedication in the service of the country. Many friends have sent me letters and said that in ‘MannKiBaat’,Ishouldalsodis- cuss our mutual journey of 7 years”, he said. Manypeoplearethankfulto the country that electricity has reached their village for the first time in 70 years, that their sons and daughters are studying in the light, under the fan. Many people say that our village too is now connected to the city by a paved road, said Prime Minister. Modirecalledthatjusta few days ago, a family from a village senthimaphotoofthewatertap installedintheirhouseunderthe ‘Jal Jeevan Mission’. “They had captioned the photo ‘ mere gaonkijeevandhara’-thelifeline of my village, there are many such families,” he said. In the seven decades after Independence, Modi said, only three and a half crore rural homes of our country had water connections. “However, just in the last 21 months, four and a half crore houses have been given clean water connections. Of these, 15 months were of the Corona period,” he pointed out. A similar confidence has cometothecountrythroughthe ‘Ayushman Yojana’. When the poor come home healthy with freetreatment,theyfeelthatthey have got a new life, he said. “Friends, in these 7 years, India has worked to show the world a new direction in digital transactions. Today, you can make digital payments with absolute ease at any place; it is proving very useful even in this time of Corona, “ Modi said. Modi reminded that “many old contentious issues” of the country have also been resolved with complete peace and har- mony and a “new confidence of peace and development” has arisen from the northeast to Kashmir. ?=BQ =4F34;78 Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday heaped praise on the farmers across the country as he pointed to the record production of crops even during the Covid-19 pan- demic. Addressing his monthly radio programme ‘Mann Ki Baat’ on Sunday, the Prime Minister said that the pan- demic affected each and every sector but the agricultural sec- tor registered a record pro- duction. The PM appreciating the farmers’ comes at a time when a section of farmers con- tinues to protest on Delhi bor- ders against the three farm laws brought into effect recently. “Our country faced such a big crisis that it affected every system of the country. The agricultural sector protected itself from this attack to a great extent. Not only did it keep itself safe, but the sector also progressed, moving for- ward,” Modi said. “The farmers produced record output and this time the country went on to procure a record amount of crops. This time in many places farmers have got more than the mini- mum support price (MSP) for mustard,” he said. “Due to the record food grain production, our country hasbeenabletoprovidesupport toeverycountryman.Today,800 million underprivileged citizens are being provided free ration in this hour of crisis. So, no such a day ever occurs in a needy home when the stove is not lit,” PM Modi added. “The Kisan Rail has so far transportednearly2lakhtonnes of produce. Now the farmers are able to send fruits, vegetables, grains to other remote parts of the country at a very low cost,” the Prime Minister said. He pointed out that farmers were doing wonders in many areas by taking advantage of the new arrangements. “Take, for example, the farmers of Agartala.Thesefarmersproduce very good jackfruit harvest. Anticipatingtheirdemandinthe country and abroad, this time the jackfruit of farmers of Agartala was brought to Guwahati by rail. These jack- fruits are now being sent to London from Guwahati,” he said. “Similarly, you must have also heard the name of the Shahi Litchi of Bihar. In 2018, the Government also gave GI Tag to Shahi Litchi so that its identity would be reinforced and the farmers would get more benefits. This time the Shahi LitchiofBiharhasalsobeensent to London by air. From East to West, North to South our coun- try is full of such unique flavors and products,” PM Modi said. “You must definitely have heard about the mangoes of Vizianagaram in South India. Now, who wouldn’t like to eat this mango? Therefore, now the Kisan Rail is ferrying hundreds of tons of Vizianagaram man- goes to Delhi. The people of Delhi and North India will get to eat Vizianagaram mangoes, andthefarmersofVizianagaram will earn well,” he added. ?=BQ =4F34;78 Amid farmers’ ongoing protests against the farm laws and the ongoing pan- demic, the Government has reached out to small and mar- ginal farmers through common service centres (CSC). The CSC SPV is a special purpose vehicle under the Ministry of Electronics IT that provides a host of elec- tronic services to consumers through its CSCs. It operates around 3.74 lakh CSCs, 80 percent of which are function- al in rural and semi-urban areas. Currently, 32,162 CSCs are connected to over 600 Krishi Vigyan Kendras for pro- viding teleconsultations. Through the agri services por- tal, the farmers will be able to buy seeds, fertilisers, pesticides, cattle feed and other agri-input products. “Aimed at empowering small and marginal farmers, who constitute 86 per cent of India’s farming community, the CSC E-Governance India Ltd (CSC SPV) has unveiled a unique Agri Services Portal that will act as a one-stop des- tination and marketplace for them,” a CSC SPV statement said. The portal -- www.csca- gri.in – will enable small and marginal farmers, who do not have easy access to the digital world, to avail essential agri ser- vices with ease and at an afford- able cost, it said. “Our newly launched por- tal can be accessed by farmers with support from local CSCs for buying agri-input prod- ucts, renting and hire of agri- culture implements and machinery, soil testing, sale of farm produce, tele-consulta- tions, loan and insurance facil- ity,” CSC SPV Chief Executive Officer Sanjay Rakesh said in the statement. CSC SPV plans to reach out to 6,000 Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs), one in each block of the country, this year. “We have already onboarded 1,000 FPOs on this new platform. These FPOs will enrol about 1 crore farmers for availing various services on the portal,” said Rakesh. With the help of Village Level Entrepreneurs (VLEs) who run the CSCs (common service centres) and FPOs, farmers can connect with buy- ers for selling their produce through Kisan e-Mart, the rural marketing arm of the CSC. In the last one year, almost 4 lakh teleconsultations have been conducted. Various government schemes for farmers will also be available through the agri plat- form, for example Kisan Credit Card, PM Fasal Bima Yojana, PM Kisan Samman Nidhi, PM Kisan Maan Dhan Yojana and similar schemes. :_UZR^RUV_`T`^ac`^ZdV`__Re¶]dVTfcZejZ_(jcd+`UZ ?=BQ =4F34;78 The Congress on Sunday said that the Narendra Modi Government’s seven years in power could be summed up in seven “crim- inal wrongdoings” by the Centre, including fuelling unemployment and infla- tion. “In the last seven years, the Modi Government has given the country unmea- surable pain. It has been seven years since the country got a failed, useless and mindless government. The country is suffering as unem- ployment fell to 11.3 percent in seven years. Petrol prices have crossed C100 and mus- tard oil C200 in many provinces. It has proved to be the weakest Government in the country in the 73 years,” AiCC chief spokesman and Congress general secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala said at press conference. The attack by the Congress coincides with the Prime Minister Modi listing resolution of long pending disputes, prioritisation of national security, self-reliance and development works as major achievements of his Government’s seven year rule at the Centre during his Mann ki Baat address on Sunday. Former Congress presi- dent Rahul Gandhi said that the Government needs to have the right intention, pol- icy, and determination to fight coronavirus pandemic - monthly talk won’t suffice. “You need the right intention, policy and deter- mination to fight Corona and not just a pointless talk once in a month,” Rahul Gandhi said in a tweet refer- ring to PM Modi’s “Mann Ki Baat” radio address. Congress also launched about five minutes video in support of party’s 7 Years of Modi Made Disaster social media campaign to claim that the Modi government was the weakest to step into office in the last 73 years. “The seven years of the Modi Government are marked by seven criminal wrong doings,” Surjewala said, while accusing the Government of being guilty of bringing upon a financial crisis, triggering unemploy- ment and inflation, attack on farmers, lack of sympathy for the poor and the middle- class, mismanagement of Covid crisis and tampering with national security. Surjewala said the current unemployment rate was the highest in 45 years; per capi- ta income was expected to dip to 5.4%; people were dying due to lack of life-saving drugs, oxygen and hospital beds while the Government watched. On the issue of farmers’ protest, the Congress spokesperson alleged that the Modi government was play- ing with livelihoods to help their “capitalist friends” in the form of the three farm laws. On the national security front, Surjewala claimed the government had failed in protecting the sovereignty and the borders of the coun- try. “Far from showing the red eye to China, the BJP gov- ernment could not hold China back from the encroachment within our border in Ladakh,” he said. He also hit out at the gov- ernment for demonetisation, implementation of GST and its handling of Maoists insur- gency. ?=BQ =4F34;78 Top BJP leaders on Sunday credited Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “dynamic leadership” for paving the way for country’s self-reliance and making it ready to face major challenges. On the completion of seven years of the BJP- Government at the Centre, BJP chief JP Nadda took a dig at the Opposition saying it went into quarantine but the party workers are out helping the needy in the pandemic reaching out to Coronavirus infected people in one lakh vil- lages across the country. He also indirectly attacked the Aam Aadmi Party saying it was creating hindrances. Nadda said those leaders in Delhi who made fun of Indian- made vaccine are now shout- ing asking for the same vac- cine. As BJP is not celebrating the day, the party president said that the organisation is observing it as ‘seva day’. He said during the seven years of governance, the party worked on Prime Minister Modi’s mantra of “Seva hi sangathan” and helped millions of people in need. In a series of tweets Nadda also extended his wishes to the “National Democratic Alliance (NDA) family”, and said PM Modi’s leadership and guid- ance has paved the way for “Atmanirbhar Bharat”. In view of ongoing Covid19 pandemic, Nadda said, “Today crores of party workers will do public service in 1 lakh villages”. The party president tweeted his mes- sages and hashtagged the tweet as “7YearsOfSeva”. “In concern of every Indian during the Corona pandemic, Prime Minister Narendra Modi Ji immedi- ately announced relief pack- ages. He called upon the gov- ernment machinery, organi- sation, and all others to help the needy,” he tweeted. “Under the leadership of the Prime Minister, the coun- trymen have met the chal- lenges firmly. India’s confi- dence has awakened under his guidance, paving the way for AtmanirbhaBharat and the village, the poor, the farm- ers, the Dalits, the oppressed, and the deprived have for the first time felt that they have their own Government at the center,” BJP leader said. Union Home Minister Amit Shah greeted the Prime Minister on the occasion say- ing during this period, the country made “unprecedent- ed achievements” in fields of security, public welfare and reforms. Shah credited Modi for improving the living stan- dards of the poor, farmers and deprived sections by bringing them into the mainstream with his determined, holistic and welfare policies and mak- ing India a powerful nation with his strong leadership. “The Modi Government has presented a unique exam- ple of unparalleled coordina- tion of development, securi- ty, public welfare and land- mark reforms,” he said. For the last seven years, Shah said, the people of the country have consistently expressed their unwavering faith in Modi’s service and dedication, for which he bows to the countrymen. “I am confident that under the visionary leader- ship of Modi ji, we will over- come every challenge and continue India’s develop- mental journey uninterrupt- ed,” he said. ^SX´bSh]PXR[TPSTabWX_b_daaTS R^d]cah´bbT[UaT[XP]RT)=PSSP 6^ecaTPRWTb^dcc^bP[[P]S PaVX]P[UPaTabcWa^dVW2B2 ^SX[PdSbUPaTabU^aaTR^aS_a^SdRcX^]SdaX]V2^eXS 0RGL*RYWFRPPLWWHG FULPLQDODFWVLQUVRQJ H^d]TTScWTaXVWc X]cT]cX^]_^[XRhP]S STcTaX]PcX^]c^ UXVWc2^a^]PP]S]^c YdbcP_^X]c[TbbcP[Z ^]RTX]P^]cW ?=BQ =4F34;78 Ahead of the crucial Supreme Court hearing on Monday over a petition seeking cancellation of Class 12 Board exams for 2021, the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) and Council For The Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE) are contemplating various options, including can- cellation and adopting an alter- native assessment route or going ahead with the exams in a shorter format keeping in mind the ‘mood’ of the major- ity of the States and UTs. The ICSE board is said to have sought markings from its affiliated schools of students’ past performance in class 9,10 and 11, which is being per- ceived as a move to cancel the board exams and evaluate a student based on the last three years of performance in school. There was, however, no such thinking by the CBSE which has already given the go ahead for evaluating students for the cancelled class 10 exams on the basis of last two years’ acade- mic performance. “The CISCE is in the process of collating and col- lecting data from all our schools presenting candidates for class 12 examinations. You are, therefore, requested to provide the requested infor- mation for class 12 candidates,” CISCE Secretary Gerry Arathoon said in a letter to school principals marked as “strictly confidential” a copy of which is available with The Pioneer. There are approximately 21,271 CBSE schools in India and 220 schools in 28 foreign countries affiliated to the CBSE. About 13 lakh CBSE students have registered for the class 12 board exams this year. There are about 2,400 ICSE affiliated schools and annually 2.5 lakh students take the class 12 exams. The Ministry of Education is scheduled to review the sug- gestions of States and UTs dur- ing this week on the matter and then place it before the PMO for the final call. Sources in the Education Ministry said that with the pandemic situation still vulnerable there is a thought process within the government over cancella- tion of exams and marking students on basis of their previous results of class 9, 10 and 11 which will be later used as qualification score for undergraduate courses and other entrance tests like JEE, Medical etc. The CISCE has asked its affiliated schools to submit data including the average of marks obtained by Class 12 students in class 11 and in the current session. The Supreme Court will hear on Monday a PIL seeking directions to cancel the class 12 exams of the CBSE and ICSE amidst the surge in COVID-19 cases across the country. “Be optimistic. May be by Monday (May 31), some resolution will be there,” a bench of Justices A M Khanwilkar and Dinesh Maheshwari told the petition- er in a hearing on Friday. While the Centre will await the decision of the judiciary, a final decision has to be taken this week as even if there is a go ahead for conduct of exam- inations then the Board has mentioned that it would need 45 days notice period. ?=BQ =4F34;78 Pregnant mothers taking paracetamol risk delivering the baby with attention- deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and autism spectrum conditions (ASC), mental health disorders. Researchers after conducting an epidemio- logical study of more than 70,000 children in six European cohorts have linked symptoms of ADHD and ASC to the mothers’ use of paracetamol (acetaminophen) during preg- nancy. In total, the researchers analysed 73,881 children for whom data were available on prenatal or postnatal exposure to paracetamol, at least one symptom of ASC or ADHD, and main covariates. Depending on the cohort, 14 per cent to 56 per cent of the mothers reported taking parac- etamol while pregnant. The study, published in the European Journal of Epidemiology, found that chil- dren exposed to paracetamol before birth were 19 per cent more likely to develop ASC symptoms and 21 per cent more likely to develop ADHD symptoms than children who were not exposed. “Our findings are consis- tent with previous research,” explained ISGlobal researcher Sílvia Alemany, lead author of the study. “We also found that prenatal exposure to parac- etamol affects boys and girls in a similar way, as we observed practically no differences.” “Our results address some of the weaknesses of previous meta-analyses,” commented Jordi Sunyer, researcher at ISGlobal and last author of the study. “Considering all the evi- dence on the use of paraceta- mol and neurological develop- ment, we agree with previous recommendations indicating that while paracetamol should not be suppressed in pregnant women or children, it should be used only when necessary.” At some point during preg- nancy, an estimated 46%-56% of pregnant women in devel- oped countries use paraceta- mol, which is considered the safest analgesic/antipyretic for pregnant women and children. However, mounting evi- dence has linked prenatal paracetamol exposure to poor- er cognitive performance, more behavioural problems, and ASC and ADHD symptoms. ?=BQ =4F34;78 RSS outfit, ‘Sanskar Bharti’, on Sunday decided to take the initiative for “financial assis- tance” to cultural artists affect- ed by the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic and submit a mem- orandum to this effect to the Central and State Governments. ‘Sanskar Bharti’ had organ- ised a program, ‘Dard Na Jaane Koye’, here to discuss the “cur- rent challenges” in the field of arts and the struggle of artists . It was presided over by lead- ing artists of various art disci- plines. “In this online forum, col- lecting funds for financial assis- tance of artists affected by the corona pandemic was serious- ly considered. It was envisaged to provide assistance to artists under social responsibility from corporate houses,” according to the organisation. “Efforts will be made by Sanskar Bharati to meet the minimum needs of the artists. Along with this, in this difficult time of pandemic, a memo- randum will also be submitted to the central government and various state governments to make them aware of the prob- lems of artists,” it said. In this seminar, tributes were paid to the departed artists who lost their lives due to Coronavirus. ?=BQ =4F34;78 With the Navy actively engaged in relief mea- sures during natural calamities besides performing its opera- tional role, it has fitted its heli- copters with medical intensive care unit to provide immediate relief to patients even during adverse weather conditions. This modification was car- ried out in the advanced light helicopter at Goa’s naval air sta- tion INS Hansa. The installa- tion of the ICU has increased the capability of the navy to evacuate critical patients even in bad and unfavourable weather conditions. Officials said the ICU was fitted on the Advanced Light Helicopter(ALH)Mk-III from by the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL). “With ALH Mk-III, an all-weather aircraft, being equipped with MICU, the Indian Navy can now undertake medical evacuation of critical patients by air even in unfavourable weather con- ditions,” they said. The MICU has two sets of defibrillators, multipara mon- itors, ventilator, oxygen support as well as infusion and syringe pumps. The unit also has a suction system to clear secre- tions in the mouth or airway of the patient. The system can be operat- ed on aircraft power supply and also has a battery back up of four hours. The equipment can be installed in two to three hours to convert the aircraft into an air ambulance. The Navy will have eight such helicopters in near future with the first one delivered by the HAL recently, they said. 21B428B24d[[^_cX^]b U^aTgPQTU^aTB2ad[X]V ?aTV]P]cf^T]cPZX]V _PaPRTcP^[aXbZST[XeTaX]V PdcXbcXRQPQXTb)BcdSh ABB^dcUXcc^ _a^eXSTWT[_c^ 2^eXSWXcPacXbcTb 9^TYQ^QfiVYdc XUYS_`dUbc gYdX93Ec
- 5. ]PcX^]$ 347A03D=k=30H k0H !! :D0A274;;0??0=Q :278 Big time insurance companies are taking policy holders for a ride after promising them manna from heaven, according to policy owners who feel let down by the volte-face made by these insurers after extract- ing the entire premium amount from them. V Hariharan, a self-made entre- preneur from Perumbavoor in Kerala who has settled down in Mumbai, was shocked to get a curt message from his insurer Max Life stating that ‘due to fund value being equal to or less than one annual target premium, your Max Life policy has been terminated and refund of C50,000 has been ini- tiated’. Hariharan who had paid C5,00,000 as premium over a period of ten years starting for 2007 and which ended in 2017 had been assured by the Insurance Advisor of Max Life that the former’s nominee would get C12,50,000 in 2032. On receipt of the message, Hariharan tried to contact Vijay Wadabalkar, the fund advisor, to find out what was wrong with his pol- icy. He was told by Wadabalkar that the entire fund value went as mor- tality charges. “Mortality Charge is the premium amount you pay to get life coverage from Insurance Company,” was the message received from Wadabalkar who had left the insur- ance company in search of greener pastures. The Fund Advisor's responsibil- ity ends once the customer enrols in the scheme. The company is silent about what happened to the premi- um paid by policy owners like Hariharan. Having failed to elicit any information from Max Life or a clear explanation from the fund advisor, Hariharan has approached the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority, the body that supervises the businesses carried out by private insurance companies. “I have taken the policy in year 2007 and the full premium on instal- ments had been paid uninterrupted- ly over a period of ten years till 2017. The total accrued premium paid to the above policy is around C5,00,000/- and the settlement amount received is C50,006/- which I have deposited in my bank account under protest and this has been intimated to Max New Life insurance company. But the sur- prise termination and unethical set- tlement amount initiated by Max New Life has disappointed me. The settle- ment amount of C50,006/- is just 10 per cent of my hard earned money invested with the said insurance company,” said Hariharan in his plea to IRDA. He is yet to get any reply from the IRDA, the body to safeguard the inter- ests of the investors and policy own- ers. Messages sent to Max Life seek- ing their comments remained unan- swered. ?^[XRh^f]TabX]:TaP[PR^_[PX]^URWTPcX]V PbX]bdaP]RTR^_P]XTbcPZTcWTU^aPaXST B0D60AB4=6D?C0 Q :;:0C0 Days after wildlife experts expressed concern regard- ing the post-cyclone well-being of the Royal Bengal Tigers of Sunderbans, one of the earth’s most dreadfully beautiful beasts, succumbed apparently to the cyclonic shock as also old age, sources said. The forest officials who tried to rescue it but failed on Sunday said that it could be the “cruel combination” of old age and scarcity of prey soon after the cyclone Yaas hit the area that could have ended its life. A male tiger aged about 11- 12 years that strayed out of the core area and was found in a completely rundown condition outside Haarikhali camp Chief Wildlife Warden VK Yadav said adding it could barely walk. “It was found lying by a pond and was panting even in rest … we tried to revive it by giving it chicken and water … it refused to have the chicken but sipped water for some time but failed to survive on way to the Sajnekhali forest camp for treatment,” an official said adding the “Sunderbans tigers are one of the cleverest and fittest animals on earth and they have learnt to survive in saline water (which is why perhaps they often turn man-eaters) conditions for ages.” They also said that it was rare that a Sunderbans tiger had not tasted human blood. “Often these tigers swim across saline rivers often more than a mile wide and filled with crocodiles to enter the local villages and drag away livestock or even men,” they said. As per the last census there are about 96 tigers in the Indian side of the Sunderbans. A postmortem on the tiger would be conducted to ascertain the cause of death. Wildlife expert Jaydeep Kundu said that often “the canine teeth of older tigers get dilapidated which is why they cannot hold on to their prey for long. This is why often they have to go food less for days, often weeks … this tiger is an older one and might have become weak due to lack of food … more over the cyclone may have taken its toll as it could not manage the easy preys too.” He however wondered how the tiger could cross the wide Matla River even in this weak condition. “This is the will power that makes the prodigal Royal Bengal Tiger,” he said. Lucknow: Most people would do anything to get out of jail. But that's not the case with 21 inmates in nine prisons of Uttar Pradesh who have writ- ten to authorities saying they don't want parole as staying incarcerated is “safer and healthier” for them during the Covid-19 pandemic. Parole is a temporary sus- pension of prison sentence. The inmates who have made such a request are lodged in nine jails of the state, includ- ing in Ghaziabad, Gautam Buddh Nagar, Meerut, Maharajganj, Gorakhpur and Lucknow, Director General of Jail Administration Anand Kumar told PTI on Sunday. The reason is that if they get a 90-day parole, then this will get added to the punish- ment term, he said. “ T h e other overriding reason which they give is that if they go out, they will not get food and other healthcare facilities, which they get in the jails. “The inmates say health checkup is done regularly in the jails. They get food on time, they are safe and healthy in jails. The inmates say that once they go out of the jail, they will have to struggle to earn a liv- ing,” Kumar said. There are four such requests from Lucknow jail, three from Ghaziabad and two from Maharajganj jail. Asked what is the jail administration's response to the request of the inmates, Kumar said, “Since they have given it in writing, obviously we have to accept their stand and honour it.” Kumar also said over 2,200 inmates have been released on interim parole, and more than 9,200 prisoners have been given interim bail. In all, around 11,500 inmates have been released following recommendations of a high-powered committee on the orders of the Supreme Court, he said. Taking note of an “unprecedented surge” in Covid-19 cases in the country, the Supreme Court on May 8 passed directions for decon- gestion of prisons and ordered forthwith release of all those prisoners who were granted bail or parole last year in view of the pandemic. In March last year, the Uttar Pradesh government had decided to free 11,000 prison- ers from 71 jails pursuant to a Supreme Court directive to decongest jails across the coun- try in the wake of the Covid- 19 contagion. PTI FA+#acZd`_VcdU`_¶e hR_eaRc`]VR^ZU4`gZUBalrampur (UP): Two men, one of them wearing a PPE kit, were caught on tape rolling down a coronavirus patient's body from over a bridge into Rapti river in Uttar Pradesh's Balrampur district. H o u r s later, the two were arrested, a senior police officer said. The video was shot by some people who were driving by the spot. After the visuals surfaced, police registered a case. Additional Superintendent of Police Arvind Mishra on Sunday told PTI, “The body of the deceased was sent home as per Covid protocol. In this context, two persons have been arrested for violation of Covid protocol after a case was registered, following a complaint lodged by the CMO. The person in the PPE kit has been identified as Manoj, while the other person was the nephew of the deceased (who received the body).” He added that the hunt is on for the third person, and investigations are going on. Earlier, Balrampur's Chief Medical Officer Vijay Bahadur Singh said on Sunday that the body has been identified as that of Prem Nath Mishra, a resi- dent of Sohratgarh in Uttar Pradesh's Siddharth Nagar dis- trict. “Prem Nath Mishra was hospitalised on May 25 after he contracted Covid-19 and suc- cumbed to the disease on May 28. The body was handed over to family members as per the Covid-19 protocol. In the video, which went viral on social media, it can be seen that the body was thrown into the Rapti river,” he said. Singh said a case has been registered at the Kotwali Dehat police station in this regard.PTI Cf^T]RPdVWc^]cP_T cWa^fX]V2^eXS_PcXT]cbQ^Sh X]c^aXeTaX]D?*PaaTbcTS Kohima: Nagaland’s Covid-19 caseload on Sunday increased to 21,563 with the detection of 192 new cases, Health Minister S Pangnyu Phom said. The death toll in the State increased to 363 after 13 more Covid-19 patients succumbed to the infection, he said. 192 +ve cases of Covid-19 reported today. Dimapur-80, Kohima-Mokokchung-33 each, Zunheboto-12, Mon-11, Phek- 7, Wokha-6, Kiphire-Peren- Tuensang-3 each, Longleng-1. 109 +ve patients have recov- ered. Dimapur-77, Phek-17, Kohima-10, Kiphire-3, Mokokchung-Mon-1 each, the minister said in a tweet. The State now has 5,049 active patients while 15,523 people have recovered from the infection so far, he said. PTI ?T^_[TXV]^aTb^RXP[SXbcP]RX]V]^abfWX[TbcP]SX]VX]P`dTdTc^VTcP2^eXS ( bW^cPcPePRRX]PcX^]RT]caTX]:^[ZPcP^]Bd]SPh ?C8 =PVP[P]SaT_^acb (!]Tf RPbTb ^aTSTPcWb 0[PQ^daTad][^PSbPQPbZTc^UUaTbW[hWPaeTbcTS_X]TP__[TbUa^P]^aRWPaS^]cWT^dcbZXacb^U0VPacP[P ^]Bd]SPh ?C8 5RDO%HQJDO7LJHUIRXQGGHDGDIWHUDDV $VSHUWKHODVW FHQVXVWKHUHDUH DERXWWLJHUVRQ WKH,QGLDQVLGHRI WKH6XQGHUEDQV ?=BQ 90D The Jammu Kashmir Government is expected to take a final call over con- ducting the annual Amarnath pilgrimage soon. As per the previous sched- ule the yatra was expected to start from June 28 but in the wake of nationwide surge of coronavirus cases the registra- tion of the pilgrims was sus- pended. According to official sources, the Union Territory administration is expected to review the level of preparedness and the prevailing situation with regard to the spread of Coronavirus before taking the final call. LG Manoj Sinha is scheduled to attend a high level meeting with adminis- trative secretaries in the civil secretariat in Srinagar on Monday along with new Chief Secretary Arun Kumar Mehta. Meanwhile, the JK administration on Sunday decided to partially relax lock- down restrictions even as it decided to impose night long corona curfew across all the 20 districts of JK between 8.00 p.m to 7.00 a.m On the other hand, a total number of 29 patients suc- cumbed to the virus on Sunday while 3805 patients were dis- charged from different hospi- tals. The positivity rate record- ed on Sunday stood at 5.35 per- cent as 2,256 persons tested positive out of a total number of 41791 tests. According to a notification issued by the state executive committee headed by the Chief Secretary, the lockdown restric- tions have been extended till 15 June with minor relaxations for the people.The educational institutions shall remain closed for imparting on campus/in person education to the stu- dents. Teaching in all these institutions will be in on-line mode All Cinemas, multiplexes. Clubs, Gyms, Spas. Massage Centers and paid parks shall continue to remain closed.However, barber Shops, Saloons / Parlours are permit- ted to open on three days in a week (except on Saturdays and Sundays) as per a roster to be issued by concerned DCs. The government has also decided to open standalone shops of all types on alternate day basis or a rotation system on weekdays (except on Saturdays and Sundays). Restaurants shall be allowed to open on all days (except on Saturdays and Sundays) only for home-deliv- ery of orders and room service of residents. No entry of cus- tomers shall be permitted even for self take-away of orders. However, Bars shall not be permitted to open till further orders. Liquor shops are per- mitted to open on three days a week (except on Saturdays and or Sundays) as per a roster to be Issued by concerned DCs. 0P]fP[ZbfXcWWXbWTaS^UV^Pcb^]P]T_chbcaTTcSdaX]VP2^eXSX]SdRTS[^RZS^f]X]2WXZPVP[da^]Bd]SPh ?C8 ?=B Q ;D2:=F With a significant drop in novelcoronaviruspositive cases, the Uttar Pradesh Government has decided to lift Covid curfew from June 1 from those districts which have shown improvement but the curfew will remain imposed in 20 big cities, including Lucknow, where the active cases are more than 600. As per the fresh directive issued by Chief Secretary RK Tiwari here on Sunday, all shops, markets and super mar- kets will open from 07:00 hours to 19:00 hours for five days, from Monday to Friday, in the districts where the number of active cases is less than 600. There will be a two-day week- ly closure of the markets, on Saturday and Sunday, when sanitisation work will be carried out in the districts. However, in containment areas there will be no relaxation at all. Besides, schools, colleges, coaching institutes, cinema halls, multiplexes, malls, clubs and swimming pools will remain closed in these districts. The new guidelines will come into effect in 55 districts where the number of active cases is less than 600 while in 20 districts the Covid curfew will continue. The districts where the Covid curfew will continue are: Meerut, Lucknow, Saharanpur, Varanasi, Ghaziabad, Gorakhpur, Muzaffarnagar, Bareilly, Gautam Buddha Nagar, Bulandshahr, Jhansi, Prayagraj, Lakhimpur Kheri, Sonbhadra, Jaunpur ,Baghpat ,Moradabad, Ghazipur, Bijnor and Deoria. - .WRWDNHILQDOFDOORQFRQGXFWLQJ$PDUQDWKDWUDVRRQ 0P]UTTSb[P]Vda^]ZThbX]?dbWZPa^]Bd]SPh ?C8 Bengaluru: Karnataka has so far received 2,025 ventilators under the PM Cares Fund and installed them in various hos- pitals to fight Covid-19. “Of the 2,025 ventilators, 578 have been installed in dis- trict hospitals, 574 in govern- ment medical colleges, 708 in Taluk hospitals, 24 in the Community Health Centres, and 141 in the private hospitals and medical colleges,” an offi- cial statement said. The ventilators supplied to district hospitals, medical col- leges and private medical col- leges and hospitals are con- firmed to be in use yet there is a huge demand for additional ventilators. The demand was being examined and met con- tinuously, the statement read. The Government said trhe State has taken the ICU facili- ty to the Taluk hospitals-level by oxygenating 50 beds and creating six ICUs with ventila- tors in each of such hospitals after the first wave, it said. Karnataka is among the rare States where ICUs have been taken to the Taluk-level. In the second phase, 888 ven- tilators had been received, of which 712 been installed at health facilities. The remaining 176 Ventilators would be distrib- uted based on the need, the statement read. The demand for ventilators grew manifold with the rising Covid-19 cases in the State. The State reported 20,628 infections and 492 fatalities on Saturday, and therea are 3.5 lakh active cases. PTI . WDNDYHQWLODWRUV UHFHLYHGXQGHU30 DUHV)XQGLQXVH 4`gZUTfcWVh ]ZWeVUZ_ FAUZdecZTed 7RFRQWLQXH LQGLVWULFWV ?=BQ =4F34;78 In a big set back to the multinational NGO Amnesty International, the Delhi High Court has refused to the stay the attachment of its bank accounts and deposits by the Enforcement Directorate. However, the HC has in its order on Saturday said that any final order by the ED will not be implemented without the permission of the Court. In November 2019, the CBI registered an FIR against Amnesty International and its affiliates for violating the FCRA and the PMLA. After the CBI’s case, the ED had in November 2020 registered money launder- ing charges and attached several deposits and bank accounts of the NGO. Properties worth Rs 1,87,86,807, two bank accounts holding a total of Rs 2,35,977, and 10 fixed deposit accounts holding a total of Rs 1,85,50,830 were provisionally attached by the agency. Passing orders on Amnesty India office’s petition, Justice Rekha Palli made it clear that any final order by the ED will not be imple- mented without the permission of the Court. Advocate Arshdeep Singh Khurana, counsel for Amnesty International, argued that the provisional attachment order (PAO) is no longer valid as the period of 180 days lapsed on May 25. The law mandates that the PAO has to be confirmed by the Adjudicating Authority under the Act with- in 180 days. Advocate Amit Mahajan, appearing for the ED, explained that the delay was due to certain issues. A094B7:D0AQ =4F34;78 The India Meteorological Department (IMD) and pri- vate weather forecaster Skymet are yet again differing on the date of arrival of monsoon in Kerala. Skymet on Sunday declared that the South-West monsoon has arrived over mainland India along the Kerala coast in what it described as a ‘mild onset’, just two days before the due date of June 1. This is in line in with its earlier prediction that the onset will happen on May 30 (Sunday) with a margin of +/-2 days. On the other hand, the IMD chose to push back the onset by four days to June 3 after south- westerly winds strengthen like- ly from June 1 resulting in enhancement of rainfall over Kerala. Hence, the onset may happen around June 3 against the predicted May 31 with a model error of +/-4 days. IMD Director General M Mohapatra said there is cyclonic circulation along the Karnataka coast which is hindering the progress of the southwest mon- soon. “The southwesterly winds could strengthen further gradu- ally from June 1, resulting in like- ly enhancement in rainfall activ- ity over Kerala. Hence the mon- soon onset over Kerala is likely to take place around June 3,” the IMD tweeted. Earlier this month, the IMD had predicted the arrival of monsoon over Kerala by May 31 with an error margin of plus or minus four days. On Sunday morning, the IMD, in its daily bulletin, said the onset of the monsoon over Kerala was expected to be around May 31. However, by afternoon it said the onset is expected to be by June 3. According to the IMD, the onset of the southwest monsoon over Kerala depends on three parameters. If after May 10, 60 per cent of the 14 stations -- Minicoy, Amini, Thiruvananthapuram, Punalur, Kollam, Allapuzha, Kottayam, Kochi, Thrissur, Kozhikode, Thalassery, Kannur, Kudulu and Mangalore report rainfall of 2.5 millimetres or more for two consecutive days, the onset over Kerala be declared on the second day, provided other two criteria are also in concurrence. This has to be supplement- ed by the wind speed. The depth of westerlies should be main- tained up to 600 hectopascal (hPa), in the box equator to Latitude 10-degrees north and Longitude 55 degrees to 80- degrees east. The Outgoing Longwave Radiation (OLR) should be below 200 watt per square meter (wm-2) in the box confined by Latitude 5-10 degrees north and Longitude 70-75 degrees east. Mohapatra said the depth of westerlies is not as much as it is expected. Plus, the rainfall para- meters remain unfulfilled to declare onset of monsoon over Kerala. On the other hand, Skymet said the monsoon kept date with Kerala two days before the nor- mal date of June 1 despite two pre-monsoon cyclones, Tautkae and Yaas, to either side of the peninsula having robbed much of its kinetic energy. Prior to its arrival, most parts of the state have been receiving strong pre-monsoon showers. Both the IMD and Skymet have differed on monsoon arrival dates earli- er too. “A set of environmental conditions need to be fulfilled as a criterion for the arrival of monsoon. By and large, all para- meters have satisfied the required threshold, essentially the rainfall and depth and speed of wester- ly winds over the Southeast Arabian Sea and adjoining Equatorial Indian Ocean,” the Skymet said. 0RQVRRQRQVHWRYHU.HUDODWREHGHODHG,0' 3T[WX72aTUdbTbc^bcPh_a^RTTSX]Vb PVPX]bc0]Tbch8]cTa]PcX^]P[^] PccPRWT]c^UXcbPRR^d]cbQh43